


A Very Divine Intervention

by MarphasChappers, NicholasFlamelFan



Series: Of Ideas and Collections (The Alchemy Lab) [28]
Category: Supernatural, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Always Female Stiles Stilinski, Bad Friend Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things, F/M, Future Stiles Stilinski, Genderbend Stiles, Good Chris Argent, Hunter Stiles Stilinski, No Apocalypse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Gabriel, Sheriff Stilinski Feels, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is Noah, Spark Stiles Stilinski, Stiles Stilinski Needs a Hug, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Warning: Gerard Argent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24294424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarphasChappers/pseuds/MarphasChappers, https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicholasFlamelFan/pseuds/NicholasFlamelFan
Summary: Stiles had enough. After everything that happened since werewolves came into his life and watching his friends die one after the other, he turns to magic to get stronger and maybe change things.He had the perfect plan and then God decides to get involved because he didn't like how the future turned out. For some reason, he seemed to think Stiles was the perfect candidate to change that.Now, if only he had warned Stiles about the gender change and the whole deal with the Angels and Demons before sending him back in time, he would have been golden.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Sheriff Stilinski & Stiles Stilinski, Sila Stilinski & Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Sila Stilinski & Stiles Stilinski, Sila Stilinski/Gabriel (Supernatural)
Series: Of Ideas and Collections (The Alchemy Lab) [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1399345
Comments: 40
Kudos: 240





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Faceclaim: Jade Weber

The light faded, Stiles blinked, trying to clear his vision “What… Where am I?”

“Welcome,” a voice sounded from behind him.

Stiles whirled around to look at the man behind him and frowned “Who are you?” he demanded, glaring at the boring-looking man. He was dressed in what looked like pyjamas with a robe thrown on top haphazardly “What am I doing here? I was just…” He cut himself off and shivered. Who was that man? Why was he here? It made no sense to him. That last thing he remembered was falling asleep and then he was here…

“I know,” the man cut him off, ignoring the suspicious looks he was receiving. He had known that this wasn’t going to be easy but he had made his choice. This boy was his one chance to change things without having to move in himself. After all, the boy had something to gain from this, didn’t he? “I know who you are Mieczyslaw Stilinski.”

“That isn’t creepy at all,” Stiles mumbled.

The man sat down on the sofa behind him, looking up at the young man with a small smile, trying to show him that he wasn’t a threat. Judging by the tense posture it wasn’t working “How about this. If you figure out who I am, then I’ll tell you everything.”

“And if I can’t?” Stiles asked, taking a couple of steps away from the man. He wasn’t sure what was happening and it made him uncomfortable. After the Nogitsune, he didn’t believe half of what he was seeing. Without being able to do anything about it, he glanced at his fingers, silently counting. Whenever he reached ten, he glanced up, making sure that the man hadn’t moved. This was a dream… Just a dream. He wasn’t the Nogitsune. He couldn’t be. The Nogitsune was gone and he was alright. It might have been more than a couple of years but his months with the fox demon were still haunting his dreams. They have turned more violent the longer he was included in the drama – Gerard, the Nogitsune, the Dread Doctors and the Wild Hunt. Each and every one of them were haunting his dreams along with losing his friends – one after the other.

The man smirked before starting to speak “Some people want to meet me. Some people don't believe in me. And some people claim to be me. Who am I?”

Stiles flinched away from him, hitting his head on the wall behind him. He hated riddles. Hated them with a passion.

_Flashback_

_"You don't understand, do you? It's a riddle. Do you know any riddles, Stiles?" the Nogitsune rasped, whirling around to face the boy._

_Stiles swallowed, grimacing at the bandage-covered form "A few."_

_"What gets bigger the more you take away?" the Nogitsune snapped._

_"A hole."_

_"What gets wetter the more it dries?"_

_Stiles cringed away from the fanged mouth, trying to stop himself from answering. It was like something was forcing him to speak "A towel."_

_"When is a door not a door?" the Nogitsune continued, shooting out riddle after riddle. He had to admit the little fox was smart. He would enjoy playing with him. Let’s hope that his friends would be as much of a challenge._

_"...When it's ajar."_

_"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it. What is it?"_

_"I don't…" Stiles swallowed, dropping his eyes to the floor. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. A part of him was dreading what the Nogitsune would do if he didn’t answer the questions correctly._

_The Nogitsune bared its teeth, lunging at the boy "Everyone has it, but no one can lose it. What is it, Stiles?"_

_End Flashback_

Stiles slid down the wall, his hands buried in his hair, tugging to bring himself back to reality “No. No, I don’t want to. Please, stop. Not again.”

The man kept his eyes on the young man, calmly settling in to wait. When he had calmed down enough, he spoke up again, taking care to keep his voice low “Some people want to meet me. Some people don't believe in me. And some people claim to be me. Who am I?”

“God,” Stiles breathed, counting his fingers almost obsessively. He licked his lips, not looking up again “You’re God.”

God inclined his head, a tone of aloofness swinging in his voice “It seems as if I made the right choice. Good job, Mieczyslaw.”

Stiles clenched his hands into fists. He called onto everything he learned over the past years, keeping his face blank and his voice cold “What do you mean, the right choice? And stop calling me that. My name is Stiles.”

“Stiles, then,” God continued “I chose you to do something for me.”

“Why would I want to do that?” Stiles frowned, giving into his confusion. He hadn’t let the man out of his sight once but if he really was God, then there was nothing he could do anyway “You could choose anyone. Why me?”

God watched him, debating on what to say. There were a lot of things he could say to try and sway the boy, all of them lies or embellishments but he had a feeling that with this one, he would get further with the truth “You were convenient. Simple as that. We have a common goal.”

“And what would that be?” Stiles demanded. He was really getting sick of this. Why couldn’t that guy just say what he wanted without playing games? With how this was going, Stiles actually preferred the Nogitsune.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t compare me to a fox demon, Stiles,” God said, his voice lowering dangerously.

“Then get to the point,” Stiles exclaimed in annoyance “I don’t want to be here. I was busy.”

God let out a short laugh “Busy. Yes, I saw that. What were you trying to do, hm? There must have been a reason for you to practise magic the way you did.” When he got no answer, he shook his head “You want to change how things turned out, don’t you? Because so do I. I will give you a choice. Go back eight years and change the past.”

Stiles’ eyes widened “Where’s the catch?”

“Two things,” God raised two fingers before lowering one “One, you have to prevent something from happening before you take care of business in Beacon Hills.”

Stiles shrugged “Doable. What’s the other one?”

“You can’t exist twice in the same timeline, no matter whether you’re not exactly the same,” God pointed out “You will have a full life constructed for you as your cousin. Use it well.”

“No, no, no, no, wait,” Stiles shook his head rapidly when God waved his hand, a golden glow enveloping him completely.

* * *

“Who are you?“ Gabriel demanded, looking at the girl who had appeared in front of him.

Stiles blinked at him before raising a hand to her head, thousands of memories flashing through her mind, making her head pound “When I meet God again, I’m going to have fun gutting Him.”

Gabriel shot forward, grabbing her arm in a tight grip “You met Him?”

“Yes,” she shrugged “I can tell you that He’s a right ass. Oh, let’s take Stiles from all that he knows, throw him in the past as a girl to take care of the shit he can’t do.”

“I’m sensing a story here,” Gabriel murmured “How about it, sweetheart. Storytime?”

Stiles narrowed her eyes at him “Why would I tell you? I don’t even know you.”

Gabriel grinned at her “True. But we can change that.”

“Dude, no,” Stiles grimaced “Just… No.”

“You can’t blame me. You’re kinda cute,” Gabriel leered playfully, steadying the girl. He had no idea what to do with her but he knew that he couldn’t just let her leave. Not when she could possibly tell him something about his father. The same person who he thought dead.

Stiles shot him a glare “I have been a girl for all of ten minutes. I think I have more than enough reasons to blame you.”

“Ten…” Gabriel cut himself off “You know what? How about we make a deal?”

“A deal?”

Gabriel nodded “You tell me your story and I tell you mine.”

Stiles shrugged, way beyond the point of caring “Sure thing. So, where are we going to go? My story isn’t really meant for a big crowd. And I doubt yours is either, Gabriel.”

“You… How do you…?” Gabriel stuttered “You said you didn’t know who I was.”

“No, I said that I didn’t know you. I never said anything about not knowing who you are,” Stiles shot back “And I wouldn’t have talked to you long enough for this deal of yours if I wasn’t close to passing out.”

Gabriel ran a hand through his hair “Ah. That… makes sense, actually.”

“No, really?” Stiles rolled her eyes, leaning against the man heavily. The longer she was standing here, the dizzier she was getting “I think I’m going to need you to catch me.”

Gabriel looked at her in surprise before raising his arms just in time to stop her from falling and hitting her head when she passed out “Well, that’s one way of meeting someone,” he mumbled to himself, lifting her into his arms “I really hope that you won’t kill me when you wake up. I do rather enjoy messing with assholes.”


	2. Mystery Spot

“What are you going to do?” Sila asked, watching Gabriel jump around giddily at the plan he had thought up.

It was still weird to her when it came to reacting to her new name. Not that Gabriel had actually used her real name more than twice. Funnily enough, the name God had given her this time around had been as much of an abomination as her last had been. Sliczny… It had been a bad joke but at least the nickname part of her life had stayed the same even when nothing else had.

Being a woman was different. Really, all the hormones were going to be the death of her and Gabriel both and she wouldn’t even think about the periods… It was horror and considering the fact that she had only been a girl for a little over three months, she was sure that she was doing great. Not that she had been very accepting at the beginning.

Her mental health had suffered a lot from the whole mess and nothing she did was helping. More and more often she was waking up already in the middle of a panic attack. The coupled thoughts of demons being able to take over her body and the Nogitsune while seeing herself kill all of her friends one after the other was slowly eating away at her. Oh, she was aware that it hadn’t been her personally who had killed most of her pack, but she was magic… She should have been able to help them. If Deaton hadn’t been as much of an ass, he could have taught her enough to defend herself and the pack. Instead, he just watched as everyone died.

“Sila,” Gabriel called out, crouching down in front of her “Hey… Come on.”

“I’m fine,” Sila murmured, brushing off his hands. They felt wrong. So wrong… wrong… Everything was wrong. She swallowed a couple of times, gazing out of the window “I’m – It’s fine, Gabe.”

Gabriel sighed before going to stand next to her “Sila, you have to talk to someone,” he murmured “If not to me, then to someone else. You’re going to kill yourself if you’re not careful. Please… You’re my friend – I don’t want to lose you.”

Sila looked over at him, seeing the pleading look on his face. Her shoulders dropped “Gabe, I…”

“Sila,” he cut her off, taking her hands in his “You went through a crap ton of stuff that I really wish you didn’t have to go through, but you can’t change it now. The only thing you can hope is to achieve a better future for the people who haven’t gone through everything yet.”

“But why should I?” she exclaimed, going to wave her hands around frantically. Gabriel didn’t let her, though. Instead, he kept a firm hold on her hand “Why me? Why is it always me? I just want to be left alone.” She hesitated for a moment before continuing “Did I ever tell you that the spell I did was supposed to kill me? I didn’t want to survive going back in time. I didn’t want to go through everything again. Gerard, Kate, the Nogitsune, the Apocalypse… Leviathans… Every single thing that caused the world to go to hell. I don’t want to be the only one who can change that. What if I mess it up? Gabe, so much can go wrong and I don’t think I can do this…”

Gabriel looked at her with sad eyes. He knew that it was hard for her. The burden she was carrying was… too much for a girl her age. She was just twenty-four after all and after the life she led… He didn’t understand why his father had chosen her. While Gabriel was glad that he had met her, he often wished that she could go back to a normal life. Without nightmares. The number of times he had woken up to her screaming or frantically counting… He still remembered the first time he had seen her like that.

_Gabriel walked into the kitchen at night to grab a hot chocolate. Normally, he would just snap it up but he felt like following ritual right now. He wasn’t quite sure what had woken him up but as soon as he caught sight of the kitchen, his jaw dropping at all the treats "What the hell?" He looked around and hurried over when he found Sila sleeping against one of the cabinets "Sila."_

_"Gabe?" she mumbled, rubbing at her eyes "What are you doing here?"_

_"I should be asking you that," he pointed out "My kitchen looks like... Well, it looks like I decided to go on a binge."_

_Sila looked around in confusion and panic, catching sight all the baked stuff. She trembled, her mind going back to her dream as she started counting her fingers over and over again._

_“Hey, what’s wrong?” Gabriel asked, seeing her staring at her fingers intently “Sila?”_

_She looked up, tears in her eyes “I can’t… I have to…” She flinched back against the cabinet when Gabriel reached out to touch her “Don’t touch me. You’re not real, you’re not real. I have to… One, two, three…” She went through all her fingers one by one before starting over._

_Gabriel bit his lip, sinking down across from her. He watched the almost obsessive counting, unsure of what to do. They had only known each other for two weeks and this was the first time he had seen Sila acting like this._

_When Sila is done counting, she went limp, hiding her face in her hands “I’m sorry,” she gasped out, rocking back and forth “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”_

_“Sila,” Gabriel whispered, scooting closer to her “Hey, I’m here. You’re alright.”_

Sila shook her head “Please just drop it,” she whispered before schooling her features “You didn’t answer my question earlier… What are you planning?”

“Don’t,” Gabriel snapped lightly, tilting Sila’s head up so that their eyes could meet “Don’t hide from me.”

“What do you want me to do, then?” Sila cried out “I can’t deal with this… Just… Please, let’s just forget it for a couple of hours?”

Gabriel bit his lips and sighed, dropping his arms to his side “For you. And only this once, alright?” His stern glare softened when Sila’s lips twitched into a smile “Remember that guy I dropped into a wormhole earlier this week?”

“What about him?”

“Oh, this isn’t about him,” Gabriel smirked “I told you about the Winchester brothers, right? You know about them?”

Sila furrowed her brow “Sam and Dean Winchester, vessels… Them?”

“Yup,” Gabriel nodded “Dean sold his soul a while ago to save Sam… He’ll be going to Hell in a couple of months and I need Sam to understand something.”

“What are you going to do?” Sila asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

A grin stole its way across Gabriel’s face “Okay, so considering that Dean is going to be gone soon and Sam is way too dependent on him… What do you think about trapping them in a time loop? I want Sam to see that he needs to be able to cope without Dean. And I think it should be a lesson learned the hard way.

Sila let out a sigh. She didn’t like it… She understood where Gabriel was going with this but it was wrong… Was it, though? Dean wouldn’t remember and he’d never actually die “I think I need to go change,” she mumbled, looking down at her clothes.

“Oh, wait,” Gabriel called out, hurrying over to one of the closets. His eyes darted around before he pulled a couple of things out, handing them to Sila.

"You have got to be kidding me," Sila growled, staring at the clothes that Gabriel had given her "What the actual hell, Gabe?"

"You're a girl. You should start dressing like it," Gabriel shrugged "Plus, that would look good on you. Come on, Sila. At least try it?"

Sila looked from Gabriel to the clothes before she let out a small sigh, turning around to head to her bedroom. She wasn’t too enthusiastic about the outfit, still preferring her band shirts and loose jeans. Not that she had found too many of those in her size and Gabriel flat out refused to buy her anything oversized, citing that it would be a shame. It had been the last thing she needed at the time and she was still uncomfortable with being female but it was slowly getting better.

Gabriel knocked on the door “You finished, Sila?”

Sila stared at herself in the mirror "I... Is that really me?" she breathed, running her hand down the front of her body. The dress was shorter than she would have liked but it looked so… different. It didn’t look like him – her. She was actually beautiful now. Maybe not quite Lydia beautiful but who was?

Gabriel entered the room and placed his hands on her shoulders "See?" he murmured "I told you that you'd look good. I understand that you're not comfortable, Sila but... You could do so much with those looks of yours. Let me show you that you don't have to hide."

“Yeah,” Sila breathed, her eyes trailing over her body “Maybe.”

* * *

Sila looked up from poking her breakfast when the door chimed. She glanced over at Gabriel who had disguised himself when she recognised Sam and Dean from the info dump she had gotten from The man. Her breathing picked up a little, anxiety rising. It wasn’t what they were planning but she hadn’t been out in public like this for a long time and it was starting to get to her.

Gabriel placed a hand on her arm “Breathe with me, sweetheart,” he murmured, looking at her with concern “Do you need to leave?”

Sila shook her head “No,” she mumbled, shifting in her seat. A shiver ran down her spine, slightly uncomfortable with all the people sitting and moving around behind her “I… I think I’m okay.”

The cashier handed an old man some change, smiling at him “Drive safely now, Mr Pickett.

“Yeah, yeah,” Mr Pickett mumbled.

“Order up,” the cook called from the kitchen.

Sam and Dean made their way further into the diner and slid into a booth, glancing around. Dean noticed a poster on the wall before he saw the cute brunette underneath it at the counter “Hey,” he exclaimed happily “Tuesday. Pig in a poke.”

Sam raised his eyebrow “You even know what that is?”

Sila turned her head as the waitress moved past her “You boys ready?”

“Yes. I’ll have the special, side of bacon and a coffee,” Dean told the waitress.

“Make it two coffees and a short stack,” Sam added, smiling at the older woman.

Doris inclined her head “You got it.” She made her way back to her spot behind the counter, letting her gaze travel. She frowned lightly when she noticed the girl who had come in with the older gentleman “Are you okay, dear? Do you not like it?”

Sila startled, almost dropping her fork in the process “Oh, I’m fine,” she whispered “I’m not hungry.”

“I can get you something else if you’d like,” Doris told her gently. The girl looked like she needed a good meal or five, she was so thin.

“It’s fine, ma’am,” Sila told her with a small, uncertain smile “I don’t need anything…”

Gabriel sighed. He was aware of most of Sila’s problems but she wasn’t talking much and that made it hard to help her. Not that he wasn’t going to try but she needed someone who would be able to relate to her “Could you bring her a bowl of fruits, maybe?”

Doris looked at him for a moment before a smile lit up her face “Of course. Coming right up.”

“I’m telling you, Sam, this job is a small fry,” Dean exclaimed, not quite quietly enough “We should be spending our time hunting down Bela.”

“Okay, sure,” Sam deadpanned “Let’s get right on that. Where is she again?”

Dean was silent for a moment before he grumbled under his breath “Shut up.”

Sam sighed “Look. Believe me, I want to find her as bad as you do. In the meantime, we have this.” Sila heard something rustling, going back to poking at her pancakes. They were already a doughy mess on the plate but she didn’t really care.

A bowl of fresh fruits was placed in front of her along with a small serving of applesauce “Here you go, dear,” Doris smiled, taking the plate of pancake mush from the girl before she could murder it more.

“Thank you,” Sila murmured, turning her attention to poking the fruit instead.

“Try and eat that,” Gabriel whispered “You have barely eaten in weeks. You can’t go on like that.” Sila looked up at him through a curtain of her hair before she nodded silently and started eating the fruit slowly.

“Alright,” Dean hummed “So this professor…”

“Dexter Hasselback was passing through town last week when he vanished,” Sam explained.

“Last known location?”

Sam took back the newspaper and folded it “His daughter says he was on his way to visit the Broward Country Mystery Spot.”

Dean snorted “Where the laws of physics have no meaning,” he read out loud.

Doris once again walked past the counter with a tray that held two coffees and some hot sauce “Two coffees, black and some hot sauce for the…” She gasped, the sauce falling from the tray. It landed on the ground, shattering loudly “Whoops. Crap. Sorry.” She turned to the back and raised her voice “Cleanup.”

Sila put down her fork, having only managed a fourth of the small bowl before her stomach felt as if it was ready to burst. Gabriel put a few bills on the table before getting up with a wink at Doris. He turned to Sila, holding out his arm for her “Come on. I’m taking you home before work.”

“Yeah,” she nodded, carefully getting off the chair. It was a wonder she hadn’t broken an ankle walking here with the shoes Gabriel had insisted on. Thankfully, he insisted on helping her along, otherwise, she was sure that she would have landed on her face more than once.

* * *

Sila walked down the street. She had decided to go for a walk after leaving the diner with Gabriel. He had gone back to watch and plan what he was going to do to Dean this Tuesday but she hadn’t felt up to helping anymore. Seeing Sam reacting to the first time it happened was… It brought back memories and not in a good way. She’d rather avoid it wherever she could.

“Yesterday was Tuesday, right? But today is Tuesday too,” Sam exclaimed, causing Sila to look up. She hadn’t even noticed that they were walking in front of her… And here she was trying to stay away from them.

“Yeah,” Dean gave back, looking over at his brother with a worried frown “No. Good. You’re totally balanced.”

“So you don’t believe me?” Sam demanded.

Dean let out a laugh, colliding with a blonde girl “Excuse me,” she mumbled, hurrying past Sila.

“Look.” Dean ripped his eyes away from Sila who he had caught sight of after turning to look after the blonde “I’m just saying that it’s crazy, you know. I mean, even for us crazy. Dingo ate my baby crazy. Hey, maybe it was another of your psychic premonitions.”

Same shook his head “No, no way. Way too vivid. Okay, look, we were at the Mystery Spot and then…”

“And then what?”

Sam paused, not wanting to really say “Then I woke up.” Sila glanced at the two movers who were trying to fit a piece of furniture through the door, suppressing her laughter at their bickering when Sam spoke up again “Wait a minute. The Mystery Spot. You think maybe it…”

Dean raised his eyebrow, getting annoyed at Sam cutting himself off all the time “Maybe what?”

“We got to check that place out,” Sam sighed “Look, just – go with me on this, okay?”

“Alright, alright,” Dean shrugs “We’ll go tonight after close. Get ourselves a nice long look.”

Sam realised what Sam had said and whipped around with Sila hopping into an alley just in time to avoid being seen “Wait, what? No.”

“Why not?” Dean huffed.

“Uh,” Sam hesitated “Let’s just go now. Right now. Business hours, nice and crowded.”

Dean snorted “My God, you’re a freak.”

“Dean,” Sam grumbled.

“Okay,” the older of the two brothers groaned “Whatever. We’ll go now.” He walked a few feet ahead of Sam and looked to his right as he stepped onto the road. Sila stumbled when a car came out of nowhere, slamming into Dean’s left.

“Dean,” Sam shouted, rushing over to him.

Sila closed her eyes at his muttering, turning around to hurry away from the scene. So much for staying away.

* * *

A hundred Tuesdays later, Sila was once again walking down the same road she had for what felt like forever. She was proud of herself that she hadn’t tripped once. Gabriel had insisted that she wear heeled boots along with her outfit and while she thought it looked really cute, there was the small difficulty of balancing on the heels. Truth was, she had enough trouble balancing her new body as it was and the shoes weren’t helping. She was getting better but it was slow progress. Thankfully, Gabriel wasn’t following her around but she knew he was watching both her and the two Winchesters.

She had given up on asking him what he had planned for Dean the moment she had expressed her displeasure. It had been alright the first couple of times but the longer it went on, the sorrier she felt for Sam. The lesson might be one he needed but Gabriel was going about it the wrong way and she didn’t like it. Everything reminded her of her old pack and how close they would be before… Well, before everything happened.

“Dean,” she heard from a side alley next to her.

Sila looked to the side and headed into the alley curiously. They were further in and just out of sight from her. The moment she saw what was going on though, her eyes widened and she froze. A group of people were on the other side of the fence, advancing on the figure pressed up against the fence “No,” she breathed, finally getting her feet to move backwards.

_“Scott,” Stiles called out, looking around for his best friend “Come on, where are you?”_

_The pack had been trying to deal with the Dread Doctors for some time now and whenever they got closer, a new monster came out of the woodworks. So far it had only been their hybrid creatures like Theo or Donovan but what they had come up with now was already proving a problem. The Dread Doctors had let a horde of Zombies free in the middle of Beacon Hills to try and escape during the commotion. They had already lost three members of the ever-shrinking pack thanks to the Dread Doctors and slowly but surely they were starting to panic._

_Danny and Aidan had been the first to go while researching something not too far away from Eichen House. They had gotten caught up in an explosion someone affiliated by the Dread Doctors had set off. Then Theo happened and had gotten a hold of Lydia. Originally, they had planned to transform her but some of the experiments had gone wrong and killed her before anything worse could happen._

_Now, they were trying to deal with the Zombies. Only Jordan, Derek, Scott, Isaac and Stiles were left now and they had no idea how to stop the horde of Zombies from advancing on the town. They weren’t sure where Isaac was. The young werewolf had disappeared shortly after they had gotten notice of the Zombies but he was still alive. At least, they were pretty sure that he was._

_Stiles froze at the sight of the Zombies. Their skin grey and decaying with sore spots all over their bodies. Hair was thinning and their eyes a creepy white. They were hunched over a figure that caused Stiles’ blood to run cold “No,” he breathed, shaking his head “No…” He couldn’t have lost another member of his pack. His best friend… His brother. A sharp pain ran through his chest as another pack bond broke, resonating through his inside. Stiles stumbled against the wall, pressing his back to the stone of the building, making sure that he was out of sight while his breathing sped up._

“Hey,” a voice ripped Sila out of her panic. Her eyes were still glued to the scene in front of her but she wasn’t sure she was actually seeing it. She blinked as a body stepped in front of her, blocking the view of the gruesome scene “Hey, come on. You – You shouldn’t have to see it.”

She shook her head “Scott,” she mumbled “I have to help… I have to… I can’t lose anyone else.”

“Who is Scott?” Sam asked, trying to shove Dean’s hundredth death out of his mind. Part of him was thankful for the distraction because he could still hear his brother’s muffled noises.

“Brother,” Sila managed to get out “He was my brother. I need to help… I…”

Sam put his hands on her shoulders, leading her away from the alley “You’re alright, okay? I…” Before he could finish the sentence, his world went black.

Dean had died once again.

* * *

“Sila,” Gabriel gasped, falling to his knees next to her “I’m sorry. I didn’t know…”

Sila curled up by the wall, hiding her face in her knees “Just give me… give me a minute.”

He sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, making sure she was aware of his movement “I’m really sorry. I – There is only one more part of this plan. I promise. It’s going to be over soon.”

“Why do you care so much?” Sila demanded, her voice shaky and weak “Why do you care what happens to those hunters?”

“Because they remind me of someone,” Gabriel admitted, letting his head rest on the back of hers.

“Your brothers,” she whispered “They remind you of Michael and Lucifer.”

Gabriel nodded lightly “I hated it. The fighting. I love them. My father, my brothers… I love them so much but watching them turn on each other? I had to leave and I don’t want the apocalypse to happen but what other choice do I have?”

“I was sent here to stop it,” Sila told him, shifting their position so she was curled against Gabriel’s side, her head resting on his shoulder “God wanted me to change it. The apocalypse, I mean. I don’t like it but I have seen where it could lead and it wasn’t good. I have been part of one of the worst endings as far as I have seen and I can’t let it happen, Gabe.”

“You’re going to change it?” Gabriel asked, sounding equal parts lost and hopeful “How?”

Sila rubbed her forehead against Gabriel’s throat, unconsciously scenting him to try and make the hurt disappear. After so many years, it was a hard habit to break… Of course, she hadn’t had anyone to scent mark in close to a year but the instinct was still there. She loved hugs but was afraid of them. The face that she allowed Gabriel this close meant a lot “I know which Seals are going to break and I have a good idea which ones I’d be able to stop…”

“Will you tell me?”

“I don’t know if I can,” she admitted “The fewer people know about my plans, the better. But I can tell you what happened in my timeline. With the apocalypse. What I knew about it if you want?”

Gabriel pressed a small kiss to the side of her head “Thank you. Really, I… I am glad that I met you.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” she murmured, staring at her fingers unconsciously “You have done more than enough for me already. I don’t need your thanks.”

“You deserve it, though,” he argued “You have no idea how amazing you are, Sila. Kind, sarcastic… You deserve a nice life and I will do my best to help you with changing things if you ever need help.”

Sila snuggled closer to him once more “Thank you. Thank you, Gabe.”

“You’re very welcome, Sila.”

* * *

“So what are you planning?” Sila asked, sitting next to Gabriel in the diner again. It was still mostly empty, the two of them having arrived early since the beginning to begin easing her into the whole situation. She still wasn’t comfortable at all but she had decided to power through this. They were wrapping it up now, so maybe she could do this after all.

Gabriel nudged her lightly “Let me do my thing. There is only one small thing that I have to do. You just do what you did, alright?”

Sila frowned at him before she sighed “Alright.” She stayed silent as Gabriel ordered their food just as he had done the past days and snorted “Really? You think this will work?”

“I think it’s been long enough for Sam to have memorized everything. Yes, I think this will work,” Gabriel told her, digging into his food.

It didn’t take long for the diner to come to life and soon enough the Winchester brothers came in. This time, Sila didn’t bother listening to them, too lost in her thoughts. She would have to start writing down what she had planned for the future otherwise she might still mess this up and she couldn’t allow that to happen. There were some crucial points that she couldn’t afford to miss or screw up. Neither here with the brothers nor back in Beacon Hills. Although, she did wonder about what she would do. Maybe she should start contacting her father… her uncle soon. She wasn’t sure whether he was aware of what had happened to his late wife’s brother but since she hadn’t known about it before, either it didn’t happen in her timeline or Noah just hadn’t kept in contact at all.

Sila put down her fork when she finished as much of the bowl as she could manage. It hadn’t improved from the first time but at least it was starting to get easier. She didn’t feel quite as sick as she had in the beginning. Gabriel put a few bills on the table before getting up with a wink at Doris. He turned to Sila, holding out his arm for her “Come on. I’m taking you home before work.”

“Yeah,” she nodded, carefully getting off the chair.

* * *

The next day, Sila felt Sam’s eyes drilling into her and Gabriel’s backs. It made her feel more on edge than she would have liked but with how relaxed Gabriel was, it was all part of the plan. Gabriel put a few bills on the table before getting up with a wink at Doris. He turned to Sila, holding out his arm for her “Come on. I’m taking you home before work.”

“Yeah,” she nodded, carefully getting off the chair. The moment they left the diner, she knew that the hunters were following them, so she stayed as close to Gabriel as she could. It was hard not to follow her flight instincts but she was trying to beat them down. It was all part of the plan. Gabriel wanted this to happen. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

All of a sudden, Sam appeared, grabbing Gabriel and slamming him against the fence with the tip of a wooden stake at his throat “Hey,” Gabriel exclaimed. Sila stared at the scene with wide eyes, biting down on her tongue to stop the noise of surprise from leaving her.

“I know who you are,” Sam snapped “Or should I say, what?”

Gabriel’s eyes adopted a fake panic “Oh, my God. Please don’t kill me. Just let us go, alright?”

Dean looked from the shell-shocked girl to his brother and the man “Uh, Sam?”

“It took me a hell of a long time but I got it,” Sam told him, a hint of smugness colouring his tone.

“What?” Gabriel frowned.

Sam tightened his grip on him “It’s your MO that gave you away. Going after pompous jerks, giving them their just desserts – your kind loves that, don’t they?”

“Yeah, sure,” Gabriel agreed, his voice still thin and panicked. When he glanced at the stake nervously, Sila had to admit that she was slightly impressed by his acting skills “Okay. Just put the stake down.”

Dean moved slightly in front of the girl, keeping his eyes on his brother. Whatever was wrong with him, he couldn’t be sure that he wouldn’t attack her next “Sam, maybe you should…”

“No,” Sam spat “There’s only one creature powerful enough to do what you’re doing. Making reality out of nothing, sticking people in time loops – in fact, you’d pretty much have to be a god. You’d have to be a Trickster.”

Gabriel swallowed, body still tense. He glanced over to Sila, seeing that Dean had moved to protect her which made his respect for him go up just the slightest bit. It didn’t matter that that attacked was his own brother. He would still protect her from him “Mister, my name is Ed Coleman, my wife’s name is Amelia. I got two kids, for crying out loud. I sell ad space…”

“Don’t lie to me,” Sam shouted “I know what you are. Or should I ask her, hm?”

Gabriel morphed back into his real form, his eyes flashing angrily “Do it and it would be your death. I don’t care who needs you alive or who you are. If you touch her, it will be your end.”

Dean blinked, looking at the girl behind him “You’re with him?” he asked, slightly incredulous “Why?”

“Because he helped me,” Sila told him, moving around him to inch closer to Gabriel now that Sam had let go of him.

“Well, if you’re ever sick of…”

Gabriel’s eyes shot to him “Don’t,” he warned the older of the two brothers “She doesn’t need someone like you flirting with her.”

“I don’t know,” Sila mumbled quietly. It was the first time someone had flirted with her as a girl and it felt… nice. So different from when he was a guy. Back then, he hadn’t been lying to Danny when he asked if he was attractive to gay guys. It had been during the beginning phase of his crush on Derek and he was worried. Of course, Danny had taken it the wrong way because Stiles was an idiot but this? It felt good. Like someone appreciated her even if it was only for her looks “It is kind of nice to see people actually interested in me.”

Sam interrupted before they could say anything else “Why are you doing this?”

“You’re joking, right?” Gabriel laughed “You chuckleheads tried to kill me last time. Why wouldn’t I do this?”

“And Hasselback?” Dean demanded, his attention leaving the girl. She wasn’t the threat here. The Trickster was “What about him?”

Gabriel frowned, tilting his head “That putz? He said he didn’t believe in wormholes, so I dropped him in one.” He forced an amused laugh before letting it turn into a smirk “Then you guys showed up. I made you the second you hit town.”

“So this is fun for you?” Sam whispered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl lower her head. Maybe there was still hope for her. He wasn’t sure why she was with the Trickster and he didn’t care right now but maybe she wasn’t bad “Killing Dean over and over again?”

“One, yes. It is fun.” He ignored Dean’s affronted look before he continued “And two? This is so not about killing Dean. This joke is on you, Sam. Watching your brother die, every day? Forever?”

“You son of a bitch.”

Gabriel looked at him with a pitying look “How long will it take you to realise? You can’t save your brother. No matter what.”

Sam once again dug the stake into Gabriel’s neck “Oh yeah? I kill you, this all ends now.”

“Oh. Oh. Hey, whoa,” Gabriel winced, holding up his hands “Okay. Look. I was just playing around. You can’t take a joke, fine. You’re out of it. Tomorrow, you’ll wake up and it’ll be Wednesday. I swear.”

“You’re lying,” Sam pointed out.

Sila shook her head “He isn’t. I’ll make sure that he takes you to tomorrow.”

Gabriel sighed “And even if I am lying. You know where to find me. Having pancakes at the diner.”

Sam looked at Dean, Sila and then back at the Trickster before his eyes turned determined “No. Easier to just kill you.”

“Sorry, kiddo,” Gabriel shrugged “Can’t have that.” He snapped his fingers, causing Sam and Dean to black out while he and Sila appeared back at their apartment.

Gabriel hadn’t been lying. He had taken Sam out of the time loop that had trapped him in a long line of Tuesdays but that didn’t mean that he had let him go. No, that would have been too easy. This was the final phase of the plan. He made himself comfortable on the couch, turning on the TV where he could see Sam and Dean in the motel room. Sila was curled up next to him, having changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants rather than the dress she had been wearing.

They watched as Sam went more and more frantic after Dean’s ‘last’ death, trying to find a way to bring his brother back. Correction, Gabriel watched. Sila had bowed out of this as soon as it had started, withdrawing back into her room. She hadn’t come out since it had started and the only reason Gabriel knew that she was alive was because he brought her food every once in a while, trying to talk to her. He had to stop this and soon. It was making Sila worse than she had been and she had just gotten better. He ached at the thought that it was his fault…

“Sila,” Gabriel called out, knocking at the door “Come on. It’s time to end this.”

The door opened, revealing a more or less put together Sila. Her eyes were screaming at him but her face was set “I don’t want to come,” she told him.

“Come on,” he murmured, reaching out to touch her face. A hurt expression flitted across his face when she drew back, avoiding his fingers “I’m sorry, Sila… I went too far.”

She nodded tiredly “You did. But it isn’t me you have to apologise to.”

Gabriel dropped his head, knowing that he wouldn’t be apologising to Sam Winchester anytime soon “Will you come? I think I could use your help.”

“Only to help him,” she said, nodding at the screen “I’m still mad at you.”

“I can live with that,” Gabriel conceded, snapping his fingers. They appeared in the room just as Bobby’s corpse vanished. The stake shot over Sam’s shoulder into Gabriel’s hands “You’re right. I was just screwing with you. Pretty good, though, Sam. Smart. Let me tell you, whoever said Dean was the dysfunctional one has never seen you with a sharp object in your hands…” He was cut off when Sila drover her foot down on his “What the hell, Sila?”

She shot him an annoyed look “You’re an ass.”

“Bring him back,“ Sam whispered, looking at his feet.

Gabriel stopped and tilted his head “Who, Dean?” He looked over at Sila “Sila, didn’t you send him the flowers?”

“Leave me out of this, Loki,” Sila told him, chewing on her lip. She didn’t like this… While she knew that Gabriel was trying to make a point, it still felt wrong. She knew how Sam felt and – even though she had gone along with Gabriel at first – she felt guilty about it now. They had talked about her stance the longer this spiel had stretched out and she had reluctantly agreed to let Gabriel do what he felt was right even if she wasn’t happy about it.

Gabriel studied her for a moment before he squeezed her forearm gently before he turned his attention back to Sam “Dean’s dead. He ain’t coming back. His soul’s downstairs doing the hellfire rumba as we speak.”

“Just take us back to that Tuesday – er, Wednesday – when it all started,” Sam pleaded “Please. We won’t come after you, I swear.”

Gabriel raised his eyebrow “You swear,” he deadpanned.

Sam nodded hurriedly “Yes.”

“I don’t know,” Gabriel hesitated. Maybe he did go a bit too far but he needed Sam to understand “Even if I could…”

“You can,” Sam cut him off.

Gabriel raised a shoulder “True… But that don’t mean I should,” he pointed out with a sigh. In a way, the younger Winchester reminded him of Sila and how broken she looked whenever she started to remember her past which was almost every day “Sam, there’s a lesson here that I’ve been trying to drill into that freakish Cro-Magnon skull of yours.”

“Lesson? What lesson?” Sam demanded, getting angry at the Trickster. He hated this. Hated being without Dean. It felt like his life was nothing if he didn’t have his brother by his side. How was he going to do this? How was he going to go on without Dean? His brother had been the only person to stay with him through his life while their father pushed them aside for his revenge. Dean has been his constant and now he had sold his soul because of Sam…

Gabriel waved his hands around, almost smacking Sila in the face when she went to step closer. She froze when Gabriel started talking “This obsession to save Dean? The way you two keep sacrificing yourselves for each other? Nothing good comes out of it. Just blood and pain. Dean’s your weakness. And the bad guys know it too. It’s gonna be the death of you, Sam. Sometimes you just got to let people go.”

“He’s my brother,” Sam pointed out, tears swimming in his eyes

“Yup,” Gabriel shrugged “And like it or not, this is what life’s gonna be like without him.”

When it was obvious that he would have said more, Sila put her hand on Gabriel’s arm and moved past him “Sam, I know that you don’t have any reason to trust me,” she started, taking another step closer to the hunter. She was more than ready to just bolt but if there was one thing Gabriel was good at – it was pissing people off. Much like her younger self had done. It was sort of funny how similar she had been to Gabriel when she was younger. Causing chaos and mischief whenever he – she could. Sometimes she missed the time she didn’t know about all this supernatural bullshit but then she would have never met Derek… It had taken a long time for them to admit to their feeling even though Derek was very aware of their mate status but after it had happened, she would have never gone back… Not until he died because of her “But I’ve been where you are. Not necessarily in the same circumstances but it’s similar enough. Let me explain something. You probably feel like you can’t live your life without Dean, right? He is your brother and that means the world. Losing him is like losing a part of yourself but he wouldn’t want you to be like this. Yes, Loki is responsible this time but what are you going to do when he goes to Hell? Sam, there are more people who care about you and want you happy.” She gestured to the prone body of Bobby “You can’t destroy yourself over this.”

“What would you know?” Sam asked, looking at the girl, really looking at her for the first time. He could see why Dean had flirted with her on that last Tuesday but there was something about her. Her eyes… They had seen things, horrible things that haunted her. They looked like the eyes of a seasoned hunter which made his guard go down the smallest bit. The fact that she was with Loki was making him a little wary of her but there was something about her. A part of him felt like he needed to learn about her, to know more about what she went through.

Sila smiled sadly “I know a lot more than you think. Loki is going to take you back to that Wednesday and you’ll get Dean back. But think about what you’re going to do when he goes to Hell. Going on a warpath is going to help no one, least of all you.”

She glared at Loki, making sigh “Fine… This all stopped being funny months ago anyway.” He snapped his fingers, taking them out of the simulation.

* * *

Sam shot up in bed, looking around in confusion. The radio was blaring the same song it had on that Wednesday a couple of months ago ‘ _Gotta get back in time.’_

“What, you gonna sleep all day?” Dean asked, poking his head out of the bathroom. He raised his eyebrow when Sam just stared at him before shrugging “I know, no Asia. This station sucks.”

Sam’s eyes shot to the clock radio, letting out the breath he didn’t know he was holding when it said Wednesday “It’s Wednesday,” he whispered.

“Yeah, usually comes after Tuesday,” Dean snorted and gestured to the radio “Turn that thing off.” Sam scrambled from the bed, getting tangled up in the covers until he managed to pull them off. He hurried over to Dean, throwing his arms around his brother. Dean stiffened in surprise before frowning at the back of Sam’s head “Dude, how many Tuesdays did you have?”

“Enough,” Sam told him, voice rough from emotion “What – uh – what do you remember?”

Dean hesitated for a moment and pulled back “I remember you were pretty whacked out of it yesterday. I remember getting up with the Trickster. That’s about it.”

Sam nodded, happy that Dean didn’t remember anything of the shit storm that he went through “Let’s go.”

“No breakfast?” Dean asked in shock.

Sam’s lips twitched in amusement “No breakfast.”

Dean shrugged “Alright, I’ll pack the car.”

“Wait,” Sam stopped him, his hand on Dean’s shoulder “You’re not going anywhere alone.”

“It’s the parking lot, Sam,” Dean exclaimed, wondering what the hell happened to his brother to make him act like that. On the other hand, he was pretty sure he was better off not knowing.

Sam bit his lip “Just – Just trust me.”

They finished packing up quickly, making to leave the room when Dean stopped “Hey, you don’t look so good. Something else happen?”

Sam said nothing for a moment before shooting his brother a small smile “I just had a really weird dream.”

Dean nodded before he grinned “Clowns or midgets?” He turned away from Sam to make his way to the parking lot, Sam following a little way behind. Dean froze when he saw the figure leaning against his Impala “Dude, isn’t that the chick who was with the Trickster?”

“What?” Sam asked, his head snapping around.

Sila watched them for a moment before she pushed off the car, making her way over “I come in peace,” she called out, holding up her hands in surrender “I just want to talk.”

“Why?” Sam questioned, eyeing her suspiciously.

Sila rubbed a hand over her face. She looked up at Sam, cursing herself for her lack of height “You’re good people, no matter what anyone wants you to think. Loki went overboard and I’m sorry for not stopping him. While I agree with the reasons he did it, he went too far. I apologise.”

Dean raised his eyebrows “What the hell happened?”

“I think it’s better if you don’t know,” Sila grimaced before she held out her hand “Will you accept my apology?”

Sam hesitated, searching her face before he remembered her words “Yeah,” he whispered, reaching out to shake her hand “Thank you.”

Sila grinned “There is just one more thing before I’ll leave you.”

“And what is that?” Dean narrowed his eyes, watching the girl’s every action. He didn’t trust the peace. She was with the Trickster after all but she hadn’t done anything to them and it was obvious something happened between her and Sam, so he decided to let it go until he had more information.

“What’s the weirdest thing you ever hunted?” she asked, innocent curiosity on her face.


	3. Ghostfacers

"Sila," a voice called out from behind her.

She turned around and blinked in surprise "Sam? What are you guys doing here?"

Dean narrowed his eyes suspiciously "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was here to meet with someone. They had some information for me," Sila shrugged, waving her hand through the air "It's not that important. I take it you're here for the… was it the Morton House? There have been interesting stories floating around here. I was actually going to check it out before leaving town."

Sam and Dean exchanged a look "Why would you do that?"

Sila shrugged "I did some research and wanted to check it out. Loki – Well, Loki decided since my life is one huge crapstorm, I have to learn how to hunt properly. I have been dealing with demons and werewolves to an extent but… Well, it didn't always go as planned, so we decided I should at least try and get some experience."

"Demons?" Dean raised his eyebrow "You aren't a hunter and yet you dealt with demons?"

Sila smiled lightly "I used to call it my power of Google-Fu but I really was just lucky. I only really learned about demons when – when I got possessed. I was barely seventeen back then. And it wasn't the last time I had to deal with demons." She looked up at the brothers, causing them to cringe at the haunted look "I never want to be that weak again."

Dean felt a twinge of pity for the girl. She was so young, maybe a little younger than Sam and she already had that haunted look that seasoned hunters had. He might have been hunting earlier but for them, it had been their father. She was just thrown into the life and from the looks of it, it screwed with her more often than not "I can appreciate that," he admitted lowly and hesitated "I have just one question. Why Loki? He is a trickster. He killed people – A lot of people."

"So have you," Sila shrugged, not really concerned with the hostile tone. They had nothing on Gerard "I won't sit here, trying to tell you why I am with Loki, but I will tell you this. He helped me a lot. There is so much going on and I don't think I would have dealt with it if not for him. He's been amazing." She chewed on her lip and peaked up at Sam through her eyelashes "I really am sorry about what he did to you, you know. I know how it feels like to lose someone important."

"You don't have to apologise," Sam told her "I probably won't be cool with Loki anytime soon, but I don't think you had that much to do with it."

Sila grinned sheepishly "I might have given Loki a couple of ideas because I do see where he is coming from but what he did at the end… Sam, I just want you to know that you can come to me. We don't know each other, and I don't trust you – I'm sure you don't trust me either, but I am putting out this offer to you. I am willing to share my story with you if it will help. Loki has been trying to get me to talk about my past more, but he just doesn't really understand. He's trying and it's helping a bit but sometimes I just need someone to actually understand me, you know? According to him if I'm to learn from actual hunters, you're the people go ask. He doesn't like you and you don't like him but something you did made him respect you at least a little."

"He's a dick," Sam pointed out.

Dean nodded "Major dick."

Sila let out a laugh "I won't be arguing with you. But he does like you to an extent. You 'killed' him once. If you were any other hunter, he would have just stayed away. He didn't."

"I wish he had," Dean grumbled.

"Sorry," Sila shrugged in amusement.

* * *

Over the next couple of hours, Sam and Sila had been exchanging information about the Morton House while Dean kept complaining about them having their noses buries in books, news articles and the missing persons reports.

"So, what do you think is going on?" Sila asked, leaning back in her chair. She caught the bag of food Dean had thrown at her, digging in hungrily.

The two brothers watched her in surprised amusement "For a girl, you sure know how to eat," Dean snorted.

Sila shrugged "Honestly, I won't gain any weight. Why should I be watching what I eat when it doesn't do anything anyway. Plus, I'm starving. Haven't had the chance to eat in a while." She had been meeting with several witches of the same coven over the last week and a half. Being away from Gabriel had made her nightmares start up again which in turn caused her to avoid sleeping like the plague. It was bad enough that she couldn't stop thinking about all the friends she lost, she didn't have to see them die over and over again.

_Tia, the leader of the local witch coven was on her way to meet the girl that Loki had sent their way. Why the trickster was interested in a human witch, she didn't know but she would be lying if she wasn't at least curious. What kind of witch did the girl have to be to draw Loki's attention? "Hey, you're Sila, right?" Tia asked, seeing a young girl looking around a little uncomfortable._

_Sila looked up "Er, yeah. You must be…?"_

" _Tia," the witch introduced herself "Loki told me that you were coming." She looked at the counter "Do you want some food before we go to meet the coven or…?"_

" _Let's go now," Sila murmured, tugging at her sleeves "I'm not too hungry."_

_Tia smiled at the nervous girl before guiding her out of the diner and to her car "So, tell me a bit about yourself, Sila."_

" _I – I'm 24 and have known about my magic about eight years," Sila explained, looking out of the passenger side window "There was a druid in the town I grew up in and… Well, I tried to go to him for help but he is a cryptic asshole."_

" _Ah, that's the way of a druid, I'm afraid," Tia snorted "Don't worry. We won't be keeping anything from you without a good reason. According to Loki, it's important that you learn as much as you can."_

_Sila bit her lip "Yeah. I apparently have a 'destiny'," she added the last word with as much sarcasm as she could muster "It's a bit complicated and I'm… I don't really know how to explain."_

" _That's alright, Sila," Tia told her patting her shoulder reassuringly "We can go over what you know and what we're going to do a little later after you had a bit of a rest, alright?"_

" _I can agree to that," Sila agreed, hiding a yawn behind her hand._

It had been amusing to watch the coven react to some of the things she had told them. Apparently, neither of them held Deaton in any sort of high regard after this. They weren't the biggest fans of druids to begin with but according to them, Deaton had broken enough of the Council's rules – the fact that Deaton had been the Hales' Emissary had made everything so much worse.

"How are you with weapons?" Dean asked, looking up from the rest of his food. It was already getting dark outside, so they would have to get ready to move out soon.

Sila licked her lips "I'm a pretty good shot and decent with a knife. My dad was a Sheriff. He made sure that I was trained."

"And what do you know about the Supernatural?" Sam questioned "How did you find out? How much do you know?"

"What is this – twenty questions?" Sila rolled her eyes "Look, I told you about me getting possessed. It wasn't the first incident. When I was in High School things started happening. My… My best friend was bitten by a werewolf and that was only the start of our troubles. Werewolves, Kanimas, Alphas, Witches, Druids, demons… The list goes on. I don't know everything – I'd say I'm not even close to knowing enough but I'm not helpless."

"I didn't say that," Sam pointed out, looking over at Dean "Look, Sila. Hunting isn't glamorous. But with everything you've mentioned so far, I'd say it's better to train you more than to just let you run in blind."

Sila gritted her teeth. She jumped up, pacing up and down the room "Don't you think I know that? I wouldn't have asked to come along – for you to help me – if I thought that my life would get easier. I lost so many people. I don't want to lose any more if I can avoid it." She tugged at her hair in frustration "I have nightmares almost every night and they just won't go away. I lost everything once. I'm not going to let it happen again."

The brothers were quiet for a moment before Dean's eyes widened "Did you say you dealt with a Kanima?"

"Yes," Sila nodded before frowning "Why?"

Sam shook his head and leaned over to grab his father's journal from his bag "They're rare. I don't think even our dad even saw one. Is it true that they are werewolves?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Sila sighed and sank down on the bed across from Dean "The Kanima… A Kanima is a shapeshifter similar to a werewolf. Actually, they are werewolves whose transformation just went… wrong. They're a sort of a mutation, I guess. Really similar and yet so different. Werewolves want packs, a Kanima wants a master. They can be controlled and will attack everyone they're told. We never really found out why the transformation went wrong. There were assumptions but nothing that was ever proven."

"Did you kill it?" Dean asked, leaning forward curiously.

Sila's lips twitched "Well, we certainly tried. But no, he didn't die."

"But it killed people," Dean pointed out "Why wouldn't you kill it?"

"He didn't have a choice, did he?" Sila murmured "Look, something you need to understand. I am a big fan of live and let live. I am not going to be judging anyone simply because they aren't human. I have met so many good people who just happened to be a werewolf or a witch or simply not quite human. If you have a problem with that, just tell me now and I'm gone."

Dean tilted his head. Part of him was sure that Sila was just being naïve. They hadn't really met many supernatural creatures who didn't deserve to die. There had been a few but their father had taught them that if it's not human, it's evil. John had certainly never cared whether they had been a threat or not… "Why would you consort with witches? They are in league with demons."

"You're thinking about the wrong kind of witch. There's more than just your classic demon witch. Wicca, Witch, Druid, Darach, Spark… To only name a few," Sila sighed "I understand that you're probably not going to change your ways and I'm not asking you to. I'm just asking that you try to understand. There is so much more to the world than black and white. If I'm being totally honest, the worst people I met were nothing but human. Did you never think why some people turned evil? Werewolves protect themselves from hunters. They protect their packs. There might always be a reason behind what you think you know. But that's not my point. I have met evil… I have seen evil and they're not always supernatural. In fact, most of the time, they are human."

Sam and Dean glanced at each other before looking back at Sila "So… What are you trying to say here?"

Sila shot them an annoyed look "I'm trying to make you see that not everyone deserves to be killed. You protect those who can't protect themselves, right?"

"Yes," Sam nodded "That's close, enough, I guess."

"Then really do protect those. You're protecting humans who can't protect themselves. What about the supernatural who can't protect themselves? I knew a hunting family once… They accepted the fact that not every supernatural was evil." Sila sighed, running a hand through her hair "I'm just trying to get you to think. You don't have to accept what I say but please think about it? I definitely would tell you my story but I need your word that you won't go around killing. There are some… rough parts and…" She broke off, shaking her head "You know what? Forget it. Is it almost time to go?"

"Sila…" Sam spoke up.

Sila raised her hand to stop him "Just forget I said anything."

"Kind of hard to do when you throw this stuff at us," Dean pointed out gruffly "I'm not saying that I believe you or anything will come of this but as one hunter to a fledgeling hunter. You can talk to us." He paused for a moment before a grimace flashed across his face "Enough of the mushy stuff now. Let's blow this popsicle stand."

* * *

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Dean asked, holding out a gun for Sila to take.

She rolled her eyes and grabbed it, effectively checking it over quickly "My dad was a Sheriff. I'd say I know how to handle a gun."

"That's good," Dean hummed "At least you won't die too quickly."

"Wow," Sila snorted "Such confidence."

Dean smirked "Well, I haven't seen you in action before, have I?"

"Point," Sila mumbled before turning to the house. When they had driven up, they could see the light through the windows. Someone was already in there and they had to deal with it one way or another "So, what's the story?"

"Police," Sam explained "Just stay back and let us handle it for now, alright?"

Sila sighed "That's the best I'm going to get, aren't I?"

"Sorry, sweetheart," Dean shrugged "You're going to have to prove yourself first."

"How am I supposed to prove myself if I'm not allowed to do anything?" Sila shot back.

Dean sighed "Just do it, would you? You're going to get your chance sooner or later."

"I'm not happy about this," Sila proclaimed, pointing at Dean "Let it be known."

Sam's lips twitched "Come on, Sila. The sooner we're in, the sooner you can do something."

"Yay," she cheered sarcastically "Fine. Let's go." Sila followed the two hunters into the house, making sure to stay back a little. Despite knowing her way around the supernatural, this part was still a bit new. Vampire, werewolves, fairies, chimaeras, wendigos and demons she could deal with but from what she had seen, it wasn't any of those. Spirits and that niche of creatures, she hadn't really given much of a thought to before.

"Freeze," Dean shouted, coming face to face with two of the people who were in here "Police officers! Don't move."

"Alright. Alright. Alright," Sam continued when they started panicking "Take it easy, take it easy."

Dean looked at the two guys "Let's see some identification."

"Come on," Sam hurried "Let's see some ID."

The younger of the two looked at Sam and Dean nervously, not even noticing Sila lingering close to the wall behind the doorway "What… Are we under – under arrest?"

"We are unarmed," the other guy pointed out, his hands still up.

"Oh, god. Oh, god," the younger man mumbled, trying not to panic any more than he already was.

Dean raised his eyebrow at them before glancing down at the ID "Want to explain that weirdo outfit, Mr… uh, Corbett?"

"I know you," the other guy said, staring at Sam and Dean with a hint of recognition.

Dean smiled sarcastically "Yeah, sure you do. Give me some identification."

The guy nodded "Yeah, ho… Woah, hold on a second. I know the both of you guys. Yeah."

Corbett frowned "What?"

"Yeah, huh…"

Sam's eyes widened "Holy shit," he breathed, causing Sila to walk up next to him.

"What?" Dean demanded, not understanding the reaction.

"Uh, West Texas," Sam said "The… the tulpa we had to take out. Those two goofballs that almost got us killed… The hellhounds or something."

Dean blinked before he turned back to study the other man "Fuck me," he groaned.

"Yeah, we're not the hellhounds anymore, okay?" the guy huffed "It didn't test that well."

"Ed, what's going on?" Corbett asked, totally confused by now.

Ed patted his shoulder "They're not cops, buddy. No, not at all."

Sila was still turning around a fact over in her head "You dealt with a tulpa? Dude, that's awesome. You have to tell me about that. I read about them ages ago in the Bestiary."

"You have a bestiary?" Dean asked her, turning away from the two clowns in front of him.

Sila scratched the back of her head "I stole one, yeah. Took me ages to translate."

"Whose did you steal?" Sam asked, trying to hold back the laughter. It didn't surprise him at all that Sila would do something like that. He might not know her that much but from just talking to her, she liked to know about what they were dealing with and if there was one way of finding out, it was a hunter's bestiary. Each family had their own and while each of them were unique, they had the same base.

"Argent," she mumbled before a grimace stole its way across her face. It hadn't been good when Gerard had found out where their copy of the bestiary had gone. Thankfully, Chris took most of his displeasure but it came up more than once while she was in his clutches that night after the Lacrosse game "I paid for it in the end but at least I learned Archaic Latin, I guess."

Sam's eyebrows shot up "Theirs is actually still in Latin?"

"Yeah," Sila shrugged "They are sort of very old fashioned."

Dean listened to their conversation while keeping an eye on the hellhounds – or whatever they were calling themselves now. That reminded him of something "Ed, Ed, you had a partner, too, didn't you? A different guy? Harry or something."

"Oh, yeah, yeah," Ed nodded, pulling his eyes away from Sila and Sam's discussion. He understood about half of what they were saying and nothing made sense. At the moment, they were talking about some bed of a Chevy or something?

"Is he around here somewhere?" Dean asked, trying to find out how many amateurs they were dealing with here.

Ed shrugged "He's running around, chasing ghosts."

Dean closed his eyes for a moment "Okay, well, listen, you and Rambo need to get your girlfriends and get out of here."

"Alright. Listen here, chisel chest, okay?" Ed snapped, really annoyed at the two assholes who had already messed things up for them once before "We were here first. We've already set up base camp. We beat you."

Dean smirked at Sam before catching Sila trying not to laugh at them "They were here first," he said.

"Mm-hm," Ed nodded smugly. Dean reached out, grabbing his collar roughly "Oh, god."

"Ed…"

Ed swallowed at the tone "Yeah?"

"… Where's your partner?" Just as he asked that there was a huge crash above them, causing Sila to flinch in surprise. Dean just stared at Ed with a deadpan stare "What are you doing in the Morton House, Ed – on a leap year – what are you thinking?"

Ed puffed up, trying to look more important than he was "We're here to spend the night, okay? It's for our TV show."

"What?" Sam frowned before glancing at the equipment and the cameras, pulling a grimace "Great. Perfect."

Corbett nodded in agreement with Ed "Yeah, nobody's ever spent the night before."

"Ah, yes, they did," Sila spoke up "Tons of people. Every leap year. They just never come back out the next morning."

"Oh, come on, who are you?" Ed demanded, narrowing his eyes on Sila "I don't believe you."

Sam pulled a stack of papers out of his duffle bag "Look." He put them onto the table whenever he mentioned a name "Mission persons reports going back almost half a century. John Graham stayed on a dare – gone. Julie Wilkerson – gone. There are tons more. All of them came to just stay the night through, always on a leap year. The only body they ever found was the last owner, Freeman Daggett."

Ed eyes the papers nervously "These look legit."

"They are legit," Sam snapped "Look, Ed, we ain't got much time here, buddy. Starting at midnight, your friends are going to die."

Sila jumped to the side, closer to Dean when what sounded like a herd of elephant came stomping down the stairs towards them. A group of three burst into the living room "Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Guys! Guys! Oh, my God. Oh, my God. We got one. Corbett. Corbett, we saw one. We saw one."

"Get out of here," Ed waved off, not believing the dark-haired guy. Harry if Sila heard the name right earlier.

"It was a full apparition," he exclaimed, gesturing excitedly "It was like a class four. It was a spectral illumination. It…"

The girl cut in, a dreamy expression on her face "It was amazing."

Harry stopped, blinking at Sam and Dean before he grimaced "Hey, aren't those the assholes from Texas?"

"Yes," Ed nodded.

Dean rolled his eyes at them "Alright, let's have this reunion across the street, guys."

"Crap," the other guy cursed "What are you guys doing here?"

"Come on, come on." Dean tried to usher them out of the room "We'll get you ice cream – our treat. What do you say? Let's go."

"Yeah, I say no."

The girl went over to the screen, messing with it "Look at this. Look, look. Ed, Ed. No. No. Look at this. Okay, honest-to-god proof, alright?" She showed them all the footage on the laptop.

"Are you kidding me?" Ed breathed, walking closer to study the image more intently.

"Yeah. No, not kidding," Harry grinned.

"What kind of reading did we get?" the guy with the camera asked.

Harry looked down at his device "Uh, it was a 10.9."

"10.9?" Ed exclaimed.

Harry hummed "Yeah, it was 10.9. It was almost 11. I came out and I was like 'What's going on?' And I was like – wait, watch this. Oh! He got blasted. It was crazy."

Sam and Dean walked away from the group, pulling Sila along. She barely reacted, staring at the group of idiots incredulously "What the hell are they trying to do?" she asked the brothers quietly "Are they trying to get everyone killed?"

"Most likely," Dean grumbled "They think they know everything there is to know about this kind of stuff. You should have seen them when we met the last time."

Sila raised her eyebrows "Sounds like a story you're definitely going to tell me."

"We'll see," Sam told her, snorting at her exaggerated pout "This is more important now, Sila. Work now, fun stories later."

"Alright, alright," she grumbled, crossing her arms. She understood where Sam was coming from. She really did but if there was one thing that she hadn't changed it was her curiosity. The curiosity that had almost gotten her killed on more than one occasion.

Sam leaned closer to the other two "Hey, think we're off on this? I mean, that was just a death echo, right?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded "But what's it doing here? Did anybody get shot here?"

"No, not that I could find," Sam admitted.

"What's a death echo?" the still unnamed guy spoke up, startling the group of hunters into twitching towards their guns. They hadn't realised that he had gotten quite this close and especially not with a camera in his hands.

Sam ran a hand through his hair "Look, we got a problem here. That ghost ain't it."

"Yeah, that's real," Harry exclaimed, almost bouncing on the balls of his feet with excitement "Like, that happened."

"What's a death echo?" the guy with the camera asked again.

Dean ran a hand down his face, trying not to sound too frustrated "Echoes are trapped in a loop, okay? They keep replaying how they died over and over and over again, usually in the place where they were ganked. It's about as dangerous as a scary movie."

Sam turned to face the group that was now paying attention to them "So maybe the echo's not dangerous but maybe something else is."

"You're right," Dean agreed and clapped his hands "Alright, we need to get out of here, guys. Come on. Let's go. Let's go. Pack it up."

Sila narrowed her eyes, seeing one of the clowns – Corbett sneak out of the room, a camera clutched in his hands. He glanced around, making sure no one realised what he was doing before disappearing through the door. Sila checked to see if anyone noticed him leaving before she passed her hand over her gun, letting out an annoyed sigh. Why couldn't people just listen to more experienced people for once? It didn't make any sense to her. Walking into a situation when they barely knew anything. They had no weapons, no idea what was going on her. She crept after Corbett, making sure to stay out of his way.

"I wish to communicate with the restless spirits here," she heard the guy whisper. He stopped suddenly when the lights turned off "Uh, lights out? Oh, I think I got night vision here."

Sila shivered when the feeling of getting watched passed over her. She pulled out the gun, jumping forward "Get behind me," she hissed, pushing Corbett to the side "Look around. There is something here. Where is it?" Corbett was frozen, not reacting to anything she was saying, so Sila narrowed her eyes, trying to make them adjust to the darkness faster "Shit." She ducked out of the way, raising her gun to shoot the ghost. Before she could pull the trigger, the spirit charged at her, throwing her against the wall. Sila let out a pained groan, landing on the ground with a dull thump "Run," she rasped, snapping Corbett out of his shock.

Daggett crouched down next to the girl, studying her for a moment before he grabbed her, disappearing further into the house. She would do nicely, he was sure. He never had a girl at his party. This would be fun.

* * *

"Corbett," Ed exclaimed, as the younger man skidding to a stop in front of him "Are you okay? What happened?"

Sam looked around "Where's Sila?"

When Corbett looked down, Dean grabbed a hold of his weird outfit, pulling him closer "Where is Sila?"

"He took her," Corbett breathed "There was this guy. This thing and it took her."

"And you just ran?" Dean snapped.

Sam grabbed his brother's arm "Dean, calm down. It's not his fault, you know that."

"Dammit, Sam. We're responsible for her," Dean gestured, pacing up and down "What the hell are we going to tell… him if we lose her, huh?"

"Ah," Sam grimaced. He turned to Ed "You have cameras up everywhere, right? Check them."

Harry looked at them for a moment before he nodded "Let's go through all the cameras… Although, Corbett, do you know where you were?"

"N-No," Corbett shook his head "Somewhere on the second floor…"

"Okay," Harry mumbled, going through the footage.

Sam turned to Dean "It's 12:04 now, Dean. 'Let's go to the Morton house,' you said 'It's our Grand Canyon.'"

Dean glared at him "Sam, I don't want to hear this. Not now, not while Sila is still missing."

"You got two months left, Dean," Sam sighed "Instead, we're most likely all going to die tonight." He picked up a chair, smashing it against the sealed front door.

"Woah," Spruce gasped "What the hell is going on, guys?"

Sam whirled around to face them "I'll tell you what's going on," he snapped "Every door, every window… I'm guessing every exit out of this house – they're all sealed."

Maggie paled "But w-why are they sealed?"

"It's a supernatural lockdown, okay?" Dean explained "Whatever took Sila doesn't want us to leave and it's no death echo. This is a bad one and it wants us scared."

"Or it just wants us," Maggie whispered.

All of a sudden, the EMF detectors started going off and the cameras fritzed "Uh, guys?" Spruce called out "The camera's fritzing again."

"Whoa," Ed exclaimed "Guys, the EMF's starting to spike. This is a big one."

"Everybody, stay close," Sam ordered "There's something coming."

An apparition appeared in front of them, causing everyone to cry out. Dean narrowed his eyes on the echo "Is this the same echo you guys saw earlier?"

"No," Harry shook his head "It's a different guy."

"Multiple echoes?" Dean frowned incredulously "What the hell's going on?"

Sam shrugged in confusion "Beats me."

"Okay," Dean sighed "Alright. Alright." He stalked forward, starting to yell at the apparition "Uh, hey, buddy. Hey. Wake up. You're dead. Hello."

Harry raised his eyebrows "What's he doing? What's he doing?"

Sam turned to the Ghostfacers, getting sort of tired of explaining everything to them "It's rare but sometimes you can shock an echo out of its loop if you can talk to the part of the ghost that's still human. Usually, you have to have some kind of connection to the deceased."

"Come on," Dean yelled "Wake up. Be dead."

The apparition flickered and turned around, his eyes widening. Harry looked around nervously "You guys hear that?"

"What's that sound?" Ed questioned.

"You guys hear that?"

"Snap out of it, buddy, huh?" Dean huffed "Come on, what are you waiting for? You're gonzo. You're dead."

A bright light shone on the apparition and the sound of a car horn echoed through the room. All of a sudden, the apparition flew backwards as if hit by an invisible vehicle. Dean jumped back, his eyes following the ghost until it disappeared.

"Where the hell did it go?" Harry gasped, stepping into the spot the death echo had been in just a few seconds ago.

* * *

"Dude, there's no record of any of this here," Dean huffed, shaking his head. He ignored the group that was following him and Sam through the house like duckling "No one got shot here. Obviously, no one got run over by a freaking train."

Sam turned to the group "Stay close."

"Did the echoes take your friend?" Maggie whispered.

Dean nodded "Yes. No. I don't know… We don't know what's doing on here. That's what we're trying to figure out, okay?"

"I think Sila knew," Sam murmured, frowning as he thought over their conversation.

Dean blinked "What gives you that idea?"

Sam ran a hand through his hair "Think about it. She has been in town for a while and apparently, the coven she was with told her a lot about the Morton House. I think she at least had more of an idea than us."

"I still don't like the fact that there is a coven in town," Dean grumbled "I…"

"Dean, maybe Sila was right," Sam pointed out "I'm not saying to trust her but all the things happening around here comes from this house. There was not one death that we can associate with the coven. If she's right, then there is a lot more magic users than we thought."

Dean sighed "I don't like this, Sam."

"What is a coven?" Corbett asked "Not like… vampire coven, is it?"

"No," Sam shook his head, looking over his shoulder "Not in this case. There's a witch coven in this town."

Maggie tilted her head "And your friend is with them?"

"Yes. No," Dean said before he groaned "We don't really know. Sila… We only met her once before which I just realised now, by the way."

"That doesn't matter," Sam explained "She is a hunter and has seen at least as much as we have. I don't care that she could be dangerous. She hasn't harmed us and actually managed to get Loki to leave us alone. That's good enough for now, isn't it?"

Harry closed his mouth with a snap "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't worry about it," Dean waved him off "We should be focussing on getting Sila back. I don't fancy being killed by Loki… Again."

"I… sense a story here," Spruce mumbled.

Dean shot him a sarcastic grin "You have no idea."

"Anyway, Dean is right," Sam spoke up "So what do we know? Death echoes are ghosts… Okay? Now, ghosts – usually they haunt places where they lived or where they died."

"Except these mooks didn't live or die here," Dean added.

Maggie blinked in confusion "So, what are they doing here?"

"Hey, give the lady a cigar," Dean cheered sarcastically before he turned to them again and stopped "Alright, seriously, does looking at this nightmare through that camera make you feel better or something? I mean…"

Maggie put the camera down for a moment before looking through it again "Um… I… uh… Well, yeah. Uh, yeah. I think so."

"Right," he mumbled, shaking his head. Having those two clowns around the first time was bad enough but it seemed like the more members they gathered, the worse they got.

When they reached a room full of stuffed animal heads and file cabinets, Sam started to root through them. He held up a broken framed certificate "Freeman Daggett, house's last owner, officially commended for twenty years of fine service at the Gamble General Hospital."

Dean's eyebrows shot up "He was a doctor?"

"Janitor," Sam corrected.

Dean shrugged "This looks like his den. When'd you say he died? '64?"

Sam hummed "Yeah, heart attack."

Maggie pulled stuff out of the cupboards and grimaced "What are these, c-rations?"

"Yeah," Dean agreed "Army-issued, three squares – like a lifetime supply."

Maggie gagged "God, is that all he ate?"

Dean grinned, waggling his eyebrows "One-stop shopping." He tried the safe to the side before he whistled "Hello… locked."

"Oh, come on, guys," Ed rolled his eyes "Shouldn't we try to get out of here?"

"Not without Sila we won't," Sam pointed out, snorting when he found a dusty pamphlet "Huh. 'Survival Under Atomic Attack' An optimist." He flinched when Dean pried the safe open with a loud bang.

"Crap," Dean cursed, leafing through the file box "Crap. Taxidermy. Okay." He froze, his mouth opening before he shivered violently "You said Daggett was a hospital janitor?"

Sam nodded "Yeah."

Dean gave another full-body shudder "Ew. Got three toe tags here. One, death by gunshot, train accident and suicide."

"Eww," Sam groaned, exchanging a look of disgust with his older brother.

Harry looked from one to the other in confusion "What?"

"Well, that explains why all the death echoes are here," Sam gestured "They're here because their bodies are here… somewhere in the house?"

When they still didn't understand Dean threw down the tags "Daggett brought the remains home from the morgue. To 'play'."

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Ed and Harry turned to look at each other "Ewwww," they chorused "Ugh."

Spruce looked a little green around the nose "That's nasty, dude."

"Right," Sam mumbled, trying very hard not to think about what he just learned.

Dean looked around, realising that someone was missing. Why couldn't those idiots just stay together for once? "Wait a minute." He rolled his eyes, stalking out of the room. It was easy to find the girl, she wasn't necessarily being quiet and if Daggett had cared to actually kill them, he already would have had enough chances. That meant that either he was taking his time or something – or someone – was distracting him. Whatever it was, it could only spell trouble "Closer to the herd, okay?" Dean said as if he hadn't almost given the girl a heart attack. It wasn't his problem if they wander of… Was it?

"Maggie? Maggie?" Harry shouted from down the corridor.

Dean rolled his eyes. They couldn't just stay put for once "She's fine."

Ed hurried up to them from behind, EMF meter in his hand "Harry. Harry, I got an 8.6 and climbing fast. Something huge is coming. Look. Something big is coming."

"It's past 11, you guys."

"What?" Dean demanded, pulling out his gun "Nobody move. Hold on. Hold on. Stay quiet." He was looking around nervously when the room got colder, not noticing Sam disappearing until his flashlight hit the ground.

"It's really cold in here," Ed complained.

Maggie looked around, fear in her eyes "Harry?"

"Sam?"

Ed was still looking down at the EMF that had gone back to normal "Some kind of surge."

"Sam?"

"Where did he go?" Spruce asked, looking around in confusion. He had been right next to him… And now he was gone.

Maggie clutched Harry's hand "Oh, no."

Dean crouched down, picking up Sam's dropped flashlight before letting his eyes drift across the room one more time "Sam!"

* * *

Sila let out a low groan when she came to. Everything was hurting and she was second-guessing mouthing off to a mentally unstable ghost. Then again, whatever happened didn't really have the same intensity as Gerard's punishment had had. Funny that a geriatric had more imagination than a ghost that had tortured and killed a ton of people over the past decades. Then again, Gerard always knew what he was doing. He always had a plan and more than once, Sila had been on the receiving end.

"Sila," Sam called out, trying to get the girl to look at him. She was looking pretty banged up but thankfully she was alive "Sila. Hey. Come on."

"Sam?" Sila groaned, trying to move her hand to touch her head.

Sam let out a noise "Don't touch that," he warned a moment too late when Sila let out a hiss "Can you talk to me, Sila? I'm right here, okay? We're getting out of this."

"Don't listen," Daggett warned her, moving around the table to pick up a knife.

Sila let out a huff "Sorry, Sam. Casper the fugly ghost gets dibs."

"Shh," Daggett hushed, trying to sound soothing as he positioned himself behind Sila "It stops hurting, so don't worry."

Sam pulled on his restraints frantically "Sila, no! Stay with me, okay? Don't… I'm right here. Don't…"

"Sam," Sila whispered, raising her head to look at the hunter across from her. She could feel the cold steel of the blade against the back of her neck, digging in deeper and deeper "I'm sorry." She swallowed, feeling her spark react to the threat behind her. So far, she had managed to reign it in but she didn't want to die… Couldn't die yet "Please don't hate me?"

"Sila, what?"

Just as the blade entered the back of her neck, a wave of magic burst from Sila's chest, hitting Daggett who immediately dropped the dagger "No," he shouted, clutching at his face in pain. It felt like he was burning from the inside "No." He let out a loud scream as Sila slumped against the rope holding her to the chair. Daggett glared at Sam before the apparition almost seemed to burn up, disappearing into thin air.

Sam strained against the rope, struggling to get free "Sila? Sila, can you hear me?" He had no idea what just happened apart from the fact that Daggett seemed to be gone. Maybe Dean had found a way to get rid of him? But how? Judging by his research, Daggett's body hadn't even been in the house which meant something else had to have happened. Why had Sila apologised to him? It made very little sense to him at the moment but he hoped the girl across from him would be able to shed some light on the situation soon.

"Sam," Dean cried out, seeing his brother tied to a chair just by the door of the bunker "Are you alright?"

Sam nodded "Yeah, Dean. I'm fine. But Sila…"

Spruce who had been filming the whole birthday table with party guests or old corpses, froze when he reached the girl he had only just met today "Oh, God. Is she…?"

Dean hurried over after untying Sam, pressing his fingers to her neck "She's fine. Unconscious but she'll be fine. What happened, Sammy?"

"I don't know. Daggett was about to… to kill her and then nothing. It was like he burnt up or something," Sam explained "There was this wave of light coming from Sila."

Dean's eyes narrowed, studying the girl intently. He would get his answers but after everything, he thought she deserved at least a little bit of a break, so he would listen to her explanation and then make up his mind. It helped that Dean had gotten disillusioned with John and his practices, rather taking on Bobby as a role model instead. Bobby, while a good hunter, didn't kill everything in sight. Maybe it would be worth calling him and checking Sila's stories about other magic users "We'll talk about that later. With Daggett gone, let's get out of here. It's almost morning anyway." He stepped closer to Sila, lifting her into his arms with a frown at how light she was "Damn… We should really feed her. She barely weighs a thing."

As they made their way through the house, Spruce turned to look at Sam "What was this Daggett guy's problem anyway?"

Sam shrugged "I'm honestly not really sure. He didn't talk to me apart from trying to wind me up."

"How?"

"He used Sila," Sam grimaced "Honestly, whatever she said to him before I got there… It wasn't good."

Dean's lips twitched despite the situation "What the hell? Why do I feel like it's going to be a theme with Sila? She seems to ramble or mouth off. At least, I got that impression."

"Yeah," Sam agreed, looking at the girl in his brother's arms. He was glad that she was alright but he couldn't deny that he was confused and a bit hurt. Although if Sila had magic – any sort of magic – then it would explain why she had been with the coven. He shook his head. Speculating wasn't going to do him any good "Probably."

"Oh, my God," Maggie breathed, seeing the others walking towards them "You found them?"

Dean huffed "Obviously. You can get out of the salt now. Daggett is gone."

"Is… Is she alright?" Corbett asked quietly, biting his lip at the sight of the unconscious girl. She had saved him. He didn't even want to know what would have happened if she hadn't been there. The fact that she was hurt was making him feel guilty though. After all, it was his fault for wandering off.

Dean's head snapped down when Sila let out a small noise "Sila?" he sank to the ground, propping her up against his chest "Come on."

"D'n?" Sila mumbled, her head turning to the side. She let out a pained hiss when the motion pulled at the incision on the back of her neck "Sam… kay?"

"I'm good, Sila," Sam told her, kneeling down in front of her "You're the one hurt."

"'M fine," she whispered, raising her hand to the back of her neck weakly. Her head snapped up when she remembered what she did, staring at Sam with wide, frightened eyes.

He held up his hand, heart pulling at how scared she looked "We'll talk about it later, alright? Just rest now."

"I'm sorry," Sila swallowed "I couldn't… I'm still…"

"Sila," Dean spoke up "Later, okay?"

Sila bit her lip but nodded, turning to hide deeper in Dean's warmth. It felt like she was frozen and she hated being cold. She absolutely hated it. Thankfully, she usually had Fen – Loki's puppy or Gabriel to cuddle with when she couldn't get warm with the help of blankets alone "Cold," she mumbled, tugging at Dean's arms.

Dean raised his eyebrows before he let out a sigh, pulling Sila closer to his chest. He flinched when her cold nose brushed against the exposed skin of his neck "Ew, cold," he complained "How the hell are you freezing this badly? You're wearing – what? – six layers?"

"Later," Sila told him, glancing at the Ghostfacers from the corner of her eye.

* * *

"So…" Sila dropped down on one of the two beds in the motel room, looking over at the two brothers unsurely.

"You have magic," Sam stated.

Sila shifted on the bed "That wasn't a question, was it?"

"Why didn't you say so?" the younger of the brothers demanded.

"We've met each other once. I know about you from several sources and to be honest, I was scared. Dean is known to be just like your father. Shoot first, ask questions later," Sila explained, clutching at the blankets "Magic… I don't know. I have had magic for a couple of years now and with how I awoke the potential… I really wish I hadn't."

Dean's hand twitched before he threw himself down on the other bed. This was going against everything his father had taught him but he wasn't sure what to do. Sila looked as if she couldn't harm a fly and considering that she had looked pretty sickly the last time they met… He would give her a chance. He let those vampires go, so why shouldn't he also give someone else a chance? "I think you should explain. You've been dangling information in front of us for a while now but haven't really said anything specific."

"That's because it's hard," Sila exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration "Okay, okay… Do you know Gerard and Kate Argent?"

Sam chewed on his lip "I've heard the names before, yeah. They are pretty well known."

Sila grimaced "Yeah… They are. Okay… Okay. I – It really all started with Kate. She did some things that… She eradicated several packs of werewolves – peaceful packs. She killed humans and wolves alike, set fire to their homes after seducing an underage member of the packs."

"How do you…?"

"It's the way it started. Kate – She killed the Hale pack a couple of years ago and that's how I got involved. I won't tell you too much about that but Kate came to town and then Gerard. I… Gerard kidnapped part of my pack and tortured them for information. When they didn't tell him anything…" She looked down at her fingers, fidgeting with the shirt she was wearing. Since hers was full of blood, she had one of Dean's plaid shirts since they didn't look quite as big on her as Sam's "They took me. I was human and they wanted to make me an example." Her face screwed up and she closed her eyes tightly "I can't even remember how long it was… I remember hurting a lot and Gerard mocking me. I was sixteen. A child. That… I think that was the moment my magic really woke up and it only got worse after that."

Sam and Dean were quiet, just listening to Sila's story "Sila…"

"Don't," she shook her head "If I stop now, I won't finish. The next part is… hard for me. It was seven years ago but sometimes it's as if he's still there." She shivered, pulling a blanket around her shoulders "The cold brings him back."

Sam hesitated for a moment before he walked over to sit down next to Sila "Bring who back?"

"The Nogitsune," she whispered "The demon that possessed me… The Nogitsune took over my body and he hurt so many people. Killed my friends and I couldn't do anything."

"Shit," Dean cursed quietly "And I thought our lives were crappy."

Sila's lips twitched sadly "They are. No offence but if I had found out about all this crap when I was as young as you were… I don't know what I would have done."

They were silent for a moment before Dean spoke up again "So… How did you deal with Daggett?"

"Urgh," Sila groaned "I was trying to forget Casper the Fugly Ghost."

"He was rather fugly, wasn't he?" Dean agreed.

"Definitely," Sila coughed "I honestly can't tell you what happened. I goaded him a bit at the beginning which was my bad. I don't think he appreciated being called fugly to his face… Anyway, he was the ultimate definition of lonely. Would be kinda sad if he wasn't a psycho."

Sam raised his eyebrows "The bodies?"

"Yeah," Sila nodded "He lifted them because he wanted to throw himself a birthday party. Why he thought they would be good company is beyond me but hey. To each their own, right?"

"He told you that?" Sam frowned, looking at Sila in confusion. Daggett hadn't really said anything to him at all.

Sila shrugged, inching closer to Sam's warmth "Apparently he liked me. Which is all kinds of wrong. Just saying."

"Yeah… Wrong," Dean mumbled with a shudder "So he was basically Norman Bates, kidnapped some corpses because no one would come to his party and then what? He died?"

"OD'd, yeah," Sila nodded "At midnight or something. That's why he only really started his whole spiel at midnight."

Sam shook his head in disgust "Wow. That's…"

"I know."

* * *

Sila was curled up on the chair, a bandage wrapped around her throat with a compress on the back of her neck. Her magic was still wonky and pretty drained from killing the ghost that it was easier to wait for Gabriel to heal it. She was staring at the screen with a raised eyebrow, unsure of what she was seeing. It was flattering to hear what Sam and Dean were saying about her but all in all, she didn't really like her being on camera.

"So, guys, what do you think?" Ed asked, gesturing to the screen as soon as the credits rolled "Are you alright?"

Dean leaned on the back of Sila's chair, a hand resting on her shoulder "You know," he started, lips twitching when he caught Sila's knowing look "I kind of think it was half-awesome."

Maggie's eyes lit up "Half-awesome? That – That's full-on good, right?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded "Um, I mean it's bizarre how you all are grossly exploiting the fact that you all almost died. Well done."

Dean slipped something into Sila's hand who in turn pretended to massage her leg as if it was hurting her. She subtly placed the battery in the bag on the ground while Dean pulled the attention to himself "Yeah. It's a real tight rope you guys are walking there."

Ed shrugged, pleased with the reaction he had gotten "Nah, that's reality, man. Yeah, we almost died searching for the truth but it's our job over here to share it with the world."

"Right," Sam drawled "Well, um, our experience, you know what you get when you show the world the truth?"

"A straight jacket," Dean replied before anyone else could "Or a punch in the face."

"Really?" Sila frowned "In my experience, it's both."

Dean inclined his head "Sometimes both."

Harry huffed out a laugh "Oh come on, guys, don't be 'facer haters just because we happen to have gotten the footage of the century."

"Oh yeah," Ed nodded in agreement.

Dean let out a sigh, surrendering. He really didn't feel like spending any more time in here. If he ever saw them again, it would be too soon "You got us there. Well, we'll see you around."

Spruce waved "Peace out."

"Come on, Sila," Dean gestured, holding out his hand.

"Since when are you a gentleman, Dean?" Sila teased, letting him pull her from the chair.

Dean paused for a moment "We'll never speak of this again, clear?"

Sila and Sam exchanged an amused look "Crystal," they chorused before making their way to the door.

Just before they could leave, Corbett stepped forward "Erm… Sila?"

"Hm?" Sila blinked, looking over her shoulder.

"Thank you," Corbett whispered "Without you…"

Sila held up her hand "Don't think about it, would you? The more you think about it, the worse it gets. You're alright. I'm alright and we're all alive. That's all that matters. Just do me a favour and keep out of haunted houses from now on. A TV show isn't worth your lives. Although…" She glared at Ed and Harry "You two are idiots. Do you care about anything but yourselves? Hunting isn't fun, it isn't a joke. Hooray, you might get famous or you might not but you're going to get people killed eventually. Not even experienced hunters can guarantee that everyone survives. We all lost people. You're dense to think that you can go in without weapons, having no fucking idea and survive. Going in without doing enough research is deadly."

"Sila, let them," Sam sighed, pulling at her arm "They can make their own decisions. We already tried."

"They are going to die, Sam," Sila gestured "The least I need to do is to warn them." She turned narrowed eyes back on the Ghostfacers "You do what you think is right but don't come running when you lose people and it gets too much. Hell, you still have a chance of getting out. I wish I never found out about this sometimes but it's too late now." She took a deep breath before walking out the door.


	4. Lazarus Rising

Dean was running with Sam and Ruby behind him, trying to get to his bag before the hellhound got to him. He dug through his belongings before he found what he was looking for. As soon as he had poured it on the floor by the door, the pounding stopped. Sam looked down at his brother, relief in his eyes as Dean’s eyes widened. He bolted for the window, pouring a generous amount of the dust onto the windowsill.

Ruby narrowed her eyes on the bag before she turned to Sam, holding out her hand “Give me the knife, maybe I can fight it off.”

Sam frowned at her in confusion “What?”

“Come on,” Ruby rolled her eyes “That dust won’t last forever.”

Dean turned around and looked at them for a moment. Just when Sam was about to hand the knife to Ruby, he gasped “Wait,” he called out. Sam turned around to Dean, the knife clutched in his hands.

“You wanna die?” Ruby challenged her hands on her hips.

“Sam, that’s not Ruby,” Dean told his brother urgently, keeping his eyes on the demon “It’s not Ruby.”

Sam turned back to Ruby who flung him into the wall behind him, pinning him against it with a malicious smirk. He dropped the knife, causing it to fall to the floor. Once he was taken care of, not-Ruby turned, hitting Dean hard. Dean grunted as he landed on top of a table “How long you been in here?” he demanded.

“Not long,” Ruby – or rather Lilith shrugged, her expression changing into something more childlike. She glanced down at the body as she spoke “But I like it. It’s all grown up and pretty.”

Sam’s eyes widened as Lilith’s eyes turned white “Where’s Ruby?”

Lilith turned to him “She was a very bad girl, so I sent her far, far away.” She tilted her head step by step, causing her neck to crunch with every movement.

“You know,” Dean spoke up, his face twisted in a grimace “I should have seen it before… but you all look alike to me.”

Lilith stared at him before her head snapped over to Sam “Hello, Sam,” she said, making her way over to him slowly “I’ve wanted to meet you for a very long time.” She grabbed his chin, forcing his head up to face her. Once he was in the right position, she leaned down to kiss him, their lips sizzling as they met “Your lips are soft.”

Sam moved his head up and to the side, trying to shake her off “Right, so you have me. Let my brother go.”

“Silly goose,” Lilith grinned “You wanna bargain, you have to have something that I want. You don’t.”

Dean clenched his jaw at the sight of Lilith harassing his brother “So, is this your big plan, huh? Drag me to hell. Kill Sam and then what? Become Queen Bitch?”

“I don’t have to answer to puppy chow,” Lilith told him. She moved away from Sam, glaring at Dean as she moved over to the door. Dean fought against her hold on him, watching as she grabbed hold of the door handle, smirking at him “Sic ‘em, boy.”

Sam’s head snapped to Dean as Lilith pulled the door open, the dust being blown away. The hellhound from before charged forward, running at Dean on the table “No,” Sam cried out as the hound pulled Dean by his legs, ripping him apart “Stop.”

Lilith just looked over at Sam who had gotten to his feet by now before glancing down at Dean who was struggling against the hellhound.

“Stop it,” Sam screamed “No.” Dean flipped onto his back still screaming in pain, the hound slashing his chest “No. Stop it.” Blood was pouring out of Dean’s chest as he quieted down, his movement becoming sluggish “No.”

Lilith smiled at Dam “Yes.” She held out her hand, a white light erupting from it. As it built, Sam turned his head away. He backed against the wall, huddling himself into a small ball. When nothing happened, he carefully lowered his hands, frowning at Lilith. She stared at him in fear, holding out her hand when he rose to his feet “Back.” Sam took a deep breath, starting towards her “I said, back.”

Sam clenched his jaw in determination, bending down to pick up the knife Ruby had given him “I don’t think so.” Just before he could stab her, Lilith left Ruby’s body, black smoke billowing out of her and into the vents.

When he was alone, Sam looked down at Dean. His eyes were staring at the ceiling with unseeing eyes, body torn to shreds. Tears were pouring out of Sam’s eyes as he sunk down next to his brother’s body “No… No… Dean…”

* * *

"Hello?" Sila's voice came through the speaker of the phone.

Sam let out a breath he didn't know he was holding "Sila."

There was a short pause at the other end of the line before he heard Sila move "Sam?"

Sam was silent for so long that Sila checked the phone to see whether it was still connected “Does your… your offer still stand?”

“Offer?” Sila frowned before her face cleared “Oh, you mean what I said about coming to find me after Dean… Shit, it happened then?”

“It did. I… Sila, I need to get away. I know that we haven’t known each other for that long… but…”

"Say no more," Sila shook her head. She ran a hand over her face, trying to get rid of the excess tiredness she felt. Gabriel had been gone for a while now on one of his Trick hunts and her sleeping schedule had become increasingly wonky "Of course you can come. Either that or I will come to where you are."

Sam hesitated for a moment before he spoke again “I don’t want to stay here.”

“I’m in Henderson, just outside of Las Vegas,” Sila told him “I’ll text you the address. But Sam… Are you sure you’re okay to drive? I don’t want you to get into an accident.”

“No, no,” Sam shook his head hurriedly “I’m… I’m fine.”

Sila made a noise at the back of her throat “You’re not and you know it. Pretending doesn’t really make it better, Sam. Bottling up will only make you explode someday when you least expect it. I’m not trying to tell you what to feel or do. Just see it as… As friendly advice from someone who knows what you’re going through.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Sam admitted quietly, shifting on the bed. He couldn’t help but glance at the empty bed that held his brother not twenty-four hours ago and had to hold back a sob.

“That’s alright,” Sila told him gently “How about you come here and we’ll see about how we continue, alright? I’m alone at the moment so no worries about Loki being there.”

Sam let out a choked laugh “He’s the last person I want to see.”

Sila sighed “Yeah, don’t blame you. He was a bit of a dick.” She breathed deeply “I’ll text you the address now. See you when you get here?”

“Yeah. See you.”

* * *

Sila froze when the headline of the article that Sam had just read out registered “Wait,” she called out “Go back.”

“What is it?” he asked curiously, looking back at the article he had just read out “You think this is a case?”

Sila closed her eyes for a moment “What’s the name of the family?”

Sam let his eyes drift over the page quickly “Erm… Davis. Says here the whole family was asleep when the fire started.”

“Any survivors?” Sila asked quietly, the images of the Hale fire flashing in front of her eyes. She had allowed Peter to share a memory of his once and he had accidentally shown her the fire as well.

“Two. A fourteen-year-old and his three-year-old sister,” Sam read out “You look like you know this sort of case.”

“That’s because I do,” Sila mumbled, rubbing a hand down her face “Look up ‘Hale Fire, Beacon Hills, California’.”

Sam typed it into the search bar and clicked through the results “Fifteen-year-old survivor, one older sister survived… Another in a coma. This is the exact same MO.”

Sila nodded and moved to Sam’s side, sliding the laptop to face her “In more ways than one. All in all, there were about six cases all with the same MO since the Hale Fire. Always a fourteen to sixteen-year-old surviving.”

“You know about this,” Sam realised in surprise.

“Yeah,” Sila shrugged “I – I knew some of the Hales and… Well, I know a lot about these cases. I researched them before but I don’t know if it’s the same person doing all of them. Can we go and check it out? I’d like to talk to the survivors. Maybe try and find him and his sister a place to stay.”

Sam tilted his head “You have an idea already, don’t you?” His eyes widened “Didn’t you tell me about this before? I think I remember the name Hale from somewhere.”

Sila nodded “Yeah, I told you a bit about the case. Just didn’t expect to run into it anytime soon. I know a pack that would probably take them in for a while, if not let them join as long as they want to be there. But I want the boy to agree first. It’s his choice after all.”

“Alright. Do you want to leave now?” Sam asked, gesturing to the beds.

“I think it would be better, yeah,” Sila nodded already getting up to grab the stuff that was lying around. It wasn’t anything new to her to live with very little, so she was right in her element. The years before she met God had been hard and it didn’t help that the apocalypse started not that long after most of her pack was decimated. Beacon Hills practically imploded from all the demons and other supernatural beings that were drawn in by the Nemeton. Stupid tree did more harm than good without anyone anchoring it. When she found out that the Nemeton needed an anchor to stop the power leaking off it after it had been woken up by the Nogitsune and that Deaton had known, she really wanted to resurrect him and kill him again. Bloody Druids and their idiotic need to be cryptic and keep everyone in the dark. So much could have been avoided had he just told them things.

* * *

“Corey?” Sila asked, poking her head into the living room of the foster home they were currently in. The two siblings, Corey and Maria as she had found out, had immediately been placed in the nearest foster home until they could find either a surviving family member or a more permanent home for them “I’m Sila and this is my friend Sam. Could we talk to you for a moment?”

The boy’s shoulders hunched “Are you with her?” he asked quietly.

Sam tilted his head “With who?”

“Her. She killed everyone,” Corey told him quietly “The police won’t believe me. They said it was faulty wiring.”

Sila knelt down in front of him “This woman. What was her name?”

“Katharina,” Corey whispered “I didn’t know. I swear… She was just…”

“She was nice to you, right? Acknowledged you and it made you feel good to have someone older interested,” Sila asked him “I’m not judging you, Corey. The woman who did that? She is sick.”

Corey looked up at the girl across from him “How do you know that?”

“Because I know Kate Argent. That’s her real name,” Sila told him “She has done this before. Seduced a young boy to give her the information she wanted.” She looked at him seriously “I am telling you this only so you know that you’re not at fault here, Corey. Do you understand me? She is older than you and manipulated you into this.”

“I could have told my family,” Corey burst out, tears gathering in his eyes “I didn’t tell them and now they’re dead.”

Sam crouched down next to Sila “I know that I wouldn’t have thought of getting help when I was younger.” He got a little more comfortable and continued speaking “I also know that this won’t be going away. This way of thinking… But we want to help you, Corey. You and your sister.”

Corey sniffed, rubbing at his eyes in annoyance “No one can help us.”

Sila lowered her voice, trying to keep people from listening in “I know a pack that might be willing to give you a home. They are over in San Francisco but if you want to stay in the area I could maybe find someone nearby?”

“You’re hunters. Why would you help?” the boy demanded.

“Because we’re not bad people. I know how it is to lose a pack,” Sila admitted quietly, chewing on her lip “Please let us help.”

Corey hesitated “How do I know that you won’t just finish the job?”

“Listen to my heartbeat, Corey,” Sila urged him “I am not going to hurt you or your sister. I genuinely want to help you and stop Kate before she can hurt anyone else.”

“Why?”

Sila raised her eyebrows “Why I want to help or why I want to stop Kate?”

Corey shrugged “You’re hunters. You should want us dead. Why do you want to stop her?”

“Because what she is doing is wrong. Packs don’t have to be fully werewolf and most of them are peaceful,” Sila explained with a sigh “Sam, could you go and talk to the woman running the place about taking Corey and Maria with us? I need a moment with him.”

Sam hesitated for a moment before he nodded “Sure. I’ll be right back.”

Sila hummed and waited for him to leave the room “Corey, I am going to tell you something that no one knows, alright? But I need you to promise me to keep it to yourself.” Corey’s eyes widened but he nodded hurriedly when Sila paused. She smiled in amusement. He seemed to be as curious as she was as a kid “Kate will get what she deserves. For one, she is going to get her throat ripped out by one of her victims which I can’t say she doesn’t deserve and this time I’ll make sure it sticks.”

“What?” Corey frowned “But she’s still alive.”

“She won’t be in a few years,” Sila smirked “Look, I know this sounds crazy but I came back from 2018. I met the survivors of one of Kate’s coups and one of her former victims. He was part of my pack and… Well, he was my mate. I hate what happened to him just as much as I hate what happened to you. Neither of you deserved it and I promise you that I’ll make sure that Kate is going to pay for what she did. The woman is nuts and so is most of her family.”

Corey gaped “You’re from the future? That’s so cool. How is the future? How did you get back? So time travel exists? Are you in your younger body like it’s in all those books or do you exist twice?” He paused to take a deep breath “I have so many questions.”

Sila let out an incredulous laugh “Of course, you’re a sci-fi fan. The future is… Well, I’m going to change as much as I can, to be honest. I got back with the help of a very, very important man… Who is also kind of an ass but shh. Don’t tell anyone. About your last question… I exist twice but enough changed so I won’t blow a hole in the universe when I meet myself.” She grinned cheekily “I’m a whole new person in more ways than one.”

“Awesome,” he breathed.

* * *

It had taken them a while to get to San Francisco with only minimal breaks. Sila had briefed them all on the way there about the pack they were going to visit, telling them all that she knew and held for important information.

Currently, they were facing off with the pack, trying to come off as non-threatening as possible. With how they managed to barge in, Sila was glad that Satomi wasn’t known for violence.

“Who are you?” the Alpha asked, stepping forward “And why are you here?”

Sila turned to the older woman and inclined her head “Alpha Satomi. I apologise for entering your territory without permission but I wish to ask you for a favour.”

“And who are you to demand a favour of our Alpha?” Demarco, Satomi’s right hand asked.

“I don’t demand anything,” Sila told him calmly “I just thought maybe your reputation meant that you would take in two young wolves I collected along the way.”

Satomi tilted her head, her eyes trailing to the three loitering at the back of the room behind Sila “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

“Of course,” Sila smiled sheepishly “Alpha Satomi, meet Sam Winchester, Corey Davis and his little sister Maria.” She lowered her voice, making sure to keep it low enough so the two children didn’t hear “Their pack was murdered, their house burnt down.”

“How many packs…?”

Sila licked her lips “Six in total. The Hales being the first. Look, could we talk away from the children? I have information I think you’d like to hear. It’s about what happened all those years ago…”

Satomi narrowed her eyes “Alright. Demarco is going to come with us and your friend… Carrie, Reed, take care of the children. Introduce them to the others. We will be back as soon as we’re done.”

Carrie smiled brightly “Yes, Alpha.”

“Follow me,” Satomi gestured, leading the two strangers down a corridor and into her office “Take a seat.”

Sam hesitated for a moment, glancing over at Sila “It’s fine,” she nodded before smiling at Satomi “Sorry, Sam isn’t as well-versed in werewolf society. I’m trying to teach him to interact with a pack. I hope that you understand.”

Demarco positioned himself behind his Alpha, staring the girl on the other side of the desk down. There was something about her… She was too comfortable around wolves to be a hunter. There was also the distinct smell of magic that hung around her. It was a mystery. One that he definitely planned on solving “You’re part of a pack,” he realised.

Sila stiffened, looking over at him “No,” she disagreed “I’m not…” At the wolves disbelieving look, she relented “But I was.”

“What happened to your pack?” Satomi asked quietly. She could understand the pain that was screaming at her when she glanced into Sila’s eyes “And how is it that you became a hunter?”

“I wanted to stop people from experiencing what I went through,” Sila admitted “My pack – we dealt with a lot of shit over the years… I’m not letting people die for nothing. Not if I can help. It doesn’t matter if they’re human or werewolves or something else.”

Demarco snorted “And yet you have a Winchester with you.”

Sam closed his eyes for a moment “I’m not my father, no matter what people seem to think.”

“It’s not just your father who has the reputation of ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ when it comes to the supernatural,” Demarco pointed out.

Sila hissed when Sam flinched back “We’re not here to fight nor are we here to hurt you. The only reason we came here was to ask you to take in Corey and Maria. I heard of your pack and had hoped that you would be willing.”

Satomi hummed “They are welcome to stay with us for as long as they wish.”

Sila nodded in relief before she sobered up “Look, there is something you need to know before we leave. Corey… He’s going to need a lot of support. He – What happened to their family is bad but he feels responsible. I’m not comfortable to tell you exactly what he said, that is his story to tell but I just wanted you to know that.”

“What do you know about these fires?” Demarco frowned “This isn’t the first time it happened. As you said, it’s the sixth time a house burnt down with almost the whole pack inside it.”

“A lot more than I wanted to know,” Sila told him honestly “I have a suspicion that I am going to look into but as for now, I just hope to prevent any more packs from dying.” She hesitated for a moment before she pulled out a card and a pen from her pocket, scribbling her number down on it “If there’s anything you need that I can help with then feel free to call. I know you don’t trust me but just know that I won’t stand by and watch werewolves die because of the actions of hunters.”

Satomi accepted the card “Thank you,” she said.

“Yeah,” Sila shrugged before getting up, gesturing for Sam to do the same “If you’d excuse us.”

* * *

Sila glanced down when her phone chirped “Oh no,” she mumbled, reading the message.

“What is it?” Sam frowned, looking up from his laptop where he was checking for a new hunt. The two of them had been travelling together for a good three weeks already and he had started to become more and more comfortable around Sila. At least she didn’t pretend to be someone she wasn’t and her honesty was a breath of fresh air. He had told her that not long ago and she had laughed, telling him that not many people thought the same.

Sila bit her lip “It… Loki’s asking how I’m holding up and he wants to meet up,” she explained. After what happened with Loki and the Winchesters she didn’t want to spring this on Sam. Not after he lost his brother for real. It was his decision whether she went and met up with Gabriel on her own or whether he could come to their suite.

“What? Why?” Sam blinked, grimacing at the thought before he could stop himself. Loki was the last person he needed right now. With his luck, the Trickster would mess with him again despite Sila being there.

She shrugged slightly “It’s been a while since we’ve last seen each other and he tends to get worried and overprotective at times… Would it be alright with you if we…” she trailed off, looking at Sam questioningly.

“I still don’t understand how the two of you are as close as you are,” Sam admitted, shaking his head “You never did explain. Loki is a dick and you… Well, you aren’t.”

Sila plopped down on the nearest bed and drew her knees up to her chest, hugging them close “Loki can be a dick, no doubt about that. But… He helped me when I hit rock bottom.” She shot him a wry, humourless grin “He picked up the pieces of me and helped me put myself back together until I resembled a – more or less – functioning human being.”

Sam watched her, seeing her eyes go glassy and the shudder than ran through her at whatever thought was currently occupying her thoughts “You’re so young… What happened to you, Sila?”

“I’m older than you, Sammy,” she pointed out, blinking out of the slew of memories “It’s a long story. One that I don’t feel comfortable telling without Loki here. Sorry… I wish I could tell you but it’s still so new… Years of being unmade and I just can’t…”

Sam studied her with a frown on his face before he nodded slowly “We all have things we would rather not think about… You know that you can talk to me and I won’t judge you, right?” When she nodded, he smiled “Then I’ll let you tell me when you’re ready. That said, if you want to come here I’m… okay… with it?” He silently cursed himself when it came out as more of a question.

Sila raised her eyebrows “Are you sure? I can tell him to get lost,” she offered “You don’t have to put up with him after what happened.”

“Now that… Hurts my feelings, dear Sila,” Loki huffed, appearing in the corner of the suit. He raised his hand to his heart playfully “Right here. The pain. Oh, the stabbing pain.”

Sam jumped violently, his hand automatically going to where he hid his weapons only to pause halfway there when he realised who had crashed their suite “What is it with supernatural beings and them startling the living daylights out of people?” He closed his laptop, sliding it to the side, never once taking his eyes off the Trickster as he did so.

“What are you doing here, you drama queen?” Sila asked tiredly.

“You were taking to long,” Loki pouted but his eyes were betraying the worry he felt. He hadn’t heard from Sila in a while and he just knew that she was on the brink of a panic attack without having to look at the dark circles under her eyes. The more exhausted she got – and she only slept when he was with her – the more likely she was going to panic.

Sam looked from the Trickster to Sila and chewed on his lip. The hint of a realisation was taking root in his mind before he shook it off. He faced Loki again “That would be my fault. Sila wanted to know if it was okay for you to come and… Well, we got distracted.”

“Hm,” Loki harrumphed “You know when she told me you turned up while I was… out, I thought she was going mad. Why would a Winchester willingly travel with someone decidedly not human?”

“Loki,” Sila warned, a pleading note slipping into her tone “Not now. Please.”

Sam sighed “No, Sila. It’s okay.” He met Loki’s eyes evenly, ignoring the impulse to shoot the Trickster in the face “You want to know why I went to her? Sila is honest and sure, she kept her abilities a secret at first and who wouldn’t? She didn’t know us other than that time we talked after your… Anyway, she never tried to play at being something or someone she isn’t. In all honesty, I needed someone like that.”

“You’re taking this better than I thought you would… Better than you did,” Loki murmured, sitting down next to Sila, pulling her into his side.

Sam rubbed the back of his neck and sighed “The only way I can explain it is that I feel like for once I have all the information I need. I can make an informed decision and yeah…” He tilted his head “What do you mean with ‘better than I did’?”

Loki’s lips twisted into a self-deprecating smile “There is a reason you hate me, Sam. Last time Dean died you went off the deep end? Now? Now you’re hunting with Sila and teaching her the things she didn’t know. You’re being surprisingly stable for a hunter that is. Not that I’m complaining…” He waved his hands around, trying to prove a point. Despite his behaviour, he actually did like the Winchesters. The brothers reminded him of his own family and it was nice to see that they cared for each other the way they did. It had been aeons since he last spoke to one of his siblings and the thought alone hurt. Then again, he had Sila now and he would be lying if he said that the girl hadn’t changed his life for the better. It was certainly more interesting.

Sam’s face blanked for a moment “Yeah… I did go off the deep end the last time,” he agreed “You forget though that I knew this was coming. I have been having nightmares of Dean dying since I found out about the stupid deal. Your little game didn’t really help either.” He looked over at Sila, surprised to see her almost asleep but smiling at him in encouragement “Dean is dead and yeah, I miss him. But I’m not as alone as I thought I’d be. I have Bobby, Ellen, Jo and now Sila. Dean is my older brother – he will always be even if he is gone – but I have managed to build a life without him before. While it’s different now… I don’t know.”

* * *

It had taken a while for Dean to convince Bobby that it was actually him and about the same time after that to find out where Sam was but once they had all the information, they moved pretty quickly. Four months in hell. Dean couldn’t even imagine how Sam must have felt. Watching him die and then dealing with Lilith.

Dean and Bobby made their way down the corridor of the – surprisingly good hotel and came to a stop in front of the room Sam was supposed to be in. How he could afford that, Dean wasn’t sure but maybe it had something to do with Sila. She did say that she wanted Sam to come to her after his death… He knocked on the door loudly, waiting impatiently.

“Hey, is…” Sam froze, the door halfway open. He just stared at the two men across from him, eyes darting from one to the other. A part of him wished he had woken Sila, so he could ask her about this. She had told him that Dean would be back but she didn’t tell him any specifics “Dean?”

Bobby blinked before his eyes narrowed suspiciously “You’re taking this really well.”

“Am I?” Sam asked, stepping back to let them into the room. He walked back over to the bed where Sila was moving around in her sleep, a slight frown on her face and sat down.

“How aren’t you at least suspicious?” Dean demanded “Did you do this?”

Sam frowned in confusion “Do what, Dean?”

“Bring me back,” the older of the two gestured.

“I didn’t do anything,” Sam told him, running his hand through Sila’s hair. He didn’t want to wake her up but as she got more and more restless, it seemed like he didn’t have another choice “And I knew it was you – both of you because you could enter the room. Sila put wards on the door the moment we moved in here.”

Dean watched them curiously “Are the two of you…?”

Sam shivered at the thought of Loki’s glare when he had found out that the two of them occasionally shared a bed after either of them had a nightmare. There was nothing sexual about it but it was a comfort for both Sam and Sila to have someone else they trusted this close. He could remember Loki’s reaction as if it had been yesterday “No. No, we’re not. Sila has been having nightmares and well… So have I. Body warmth helps a lot, so yeah.”

“Sam?” Sila whined sleepily, her voice rough “Loud.”

Dean let out a snort “What a way to be welcomed back.”

Sila shot up in bed “Dean?”

“In the flesh,” he grinned.

“How?” she blinked, trying to remember exactly how Dean had come back.

Dean ran a hand over his face “If only I knew,” he huffed “The only thing I have is this.” He shrugged off his flannel and tugged up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal the bright red handprint on his arm.

Sila shot up from the bed, trying to get over to Dean without falling over the blanket that had managed to wrap around her legs.

“Woah,” Dean grinned in amusement as he caught Sila, steading her gently “You don’t have to throw yourself at me.”

“Shut up,” she mumbled, squinting at the handprint. She reached up a hand to prod at it “Does it hurt? Do you feel anything different coming from it?”

Dean watched her curiously. He hadn’t really had much of a chance to see how her brain worked but he knew from Bobby that she had helped more than one hunter out with the unconventional way she thought things through. Apparently, during the months he missed, she had integrated herself in the hunting community. Sila and Sam had stopped by the roadhouse and Bobby’s at least once every two weeks, keeping Bobby and Ellen updated and helped out a couple of other hunters while they were at it “No and no. It did hurt a bit at first but not enough for me to actually notice it… I did have to dig myself out of my own grave.” He grimaced “Never thought I’d say something like that.”

“Something else to strike off your list of things to not repeat,” Sila commented absentmindedly, moving over to the table to grab her laptop. She knew what the handprint was from. It had a similar feel to it as Gabriel’s grace had. It made sense that the only thing that could get Dean out of hell was either a high-ranked demon or an angel.

Bobby raised his eyebrows at Sila and moves over to her “What are you thinking?”

She shook her head “There’s really only two possibilities. Three if you want to go into highly unlikely but possible.”

“Show me,” Bobby demanded, sitting down.

Sila tapped on her laptop, bringing up the documents in questions “Here,” she turned the screen to face Bobby “If we go by the idea that they exist… I mean, I don’t see why they wouldn’t. Demons exist, so why not angels, right? Anyway, I don’t know who did it exactly but it would make sense. No demon would go and raise Dean after leaving him in there for… Oh.”

“Sila?” Sam called out, looking up from his conversation with Dean.

“It’s nothing,” Sila shook her head. This was the first seal. The righteous man who had been broken by hell. It was showtime and she was everything but prepared for it. Gabriel had taught her several runes and spells that would help her in keeping angels off her tail but she was sure that soon heaven and hell would be after her and she was not ready “I just… remembered something. I’ll tell you once I’m a hundred percent sure about this. I promise.”

Sam narrowed his eyes on her “I’ll hold you to that.”

Bobby looked up from the laptop “I know a psychic. A few hours from here. Maybe she can help us… prove this. Something this big…”

“Would throw waves,” Sila finished for him “You think she heard something?”

“It’s possible,” Bobby shrugged.

Sam and Dean exchanged a look. Dean shrugged “Hell yeah, it’s worth a shot.”

“I’ll be right back,” Bobby nodded, getting up with a small groan.

Sila smiled at the brothers, threw the rest of her clothes into her bag and grabbed her laptop “I’ll leave you two to talk. Just bring out my bag when you’re done.”

* * *

Sila spent most of the drive brainstorming with Bobby. She didn’t let him know too much about the whole situation, wanting to see what would happen first. If she stepped in too soon, the angels that were watching would take her out faster than she could protest. And the last thing she needed was to be taken out before she could change her life – her younger body’s life – for the better. Not only his either. She had a lot of things planned that all started with Derek coming to town. Then again, she didn’t really want to change too much of the situation with Peter because a part of her felt like he deserved the revenge.

“Are you coming?” Bobby asked, turning back when Sila didn’t move after he cut off the engine.

Sila blinked rapidly, noticing that they had arrived “Sorry. Was thinking.”

Bobby’s lips twitched “That much was obvious.”

“So, this is where your psychic friend lives?” Dean questioned, looking up at the house.

Bobby shot him a look before knocking on the door. They didn’t have to wait for long for the door to be thrown open. A woman maybe ten years older than Sila was looking at them with an easy smile that grew when she recognized Bobby “Bobby,” Pam exclaimed, grabbing him in a hug.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes,” Bobby told her, letting her lift him off the ground.

Pamela stepped back and let her eyes drift over the rest of the group. She briefly stopped on the girl who was lingering at the edge of her porch before she looked Sam and Dean up and down appraisingly “So, these the boys?”

Bobby nodded “Sam, Dean. This is Pamela Barnes, best damn psychic in the state.”

“Hey,” Dean smiled flirtatiously.

Sam stepped back towards Sila awkwardly, not wanting to get in the middle of whatever that was “Hi.”

Pam nodded at Sam before turning her eyes on Sila “And you are?”

“Sila,” she replied.

Pam narrowed her eyes on the girl for a moment, trying to figure out why she felt the way she did “Got a last name to go with it?”

“Maybe,” Sila shrugged.

“Mysterious,” Pam snorted, winking at her. She wasn’t too bothered by not getting any information. After all, if the girl was with Bobby, she had to be worth it. The old man didn’t trust many people and neither did the Winchesters from what she heard “Now, Dean Winchester. Out of the fire and back in the frying pan, huh? Makes you a rare individual.”

Dean looked at her uncomfortably “If you say so.”

Pamela gestured for the group to come inside “Come on in.”

As soon as the door closed, Bobby turned to her “So, you hear anything?”

“Well, I Ouija’d my way through a dozen spirits,” Pam sighed, running a hand through her hair “No one seems to know who broke your boy out… or why.”

Bobby sighed “So what’s next?”

Pam chewed on her lip “A séance, I think. See if we can see who did the deed.”

“You’re not gonna… summon the damn thing here,” Bobby burst out.

“No,” Pam rolled her eyes “I just want to get a sneak peek at it. Like a crystal ball without the crystal.”

Sila looked over from where she was browsing through the bookshelf. Pam had quite a few interesting books written by witches she had heard off along with other occult books “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”

“I’m game,” Dean spoke over her.

“Then let’s do this,” Pam clapped “I just need to set up.”

Sila let out a sigh when her words were ignored “Figures.”

“Why don’t you want to do a séance?” Sam asked cautiously. He had learned a lot about Sila in the last four months and he was sure that she knew more about the whole situation than she was telling. What he also learned was that normally she had a good reason for not telling him about some things until she was sure that she could tell him or had confirmed her suspicions.

Sila shook her head “Don’t worry about it, Sammy. Since Pamela is so insistent, I really hope that I’m wrong.”

“Sila…”

Sila raised her finger to her lips “Not now, Sam. Not here.”

“But you will tell me?” Sam asked, narrowing his eyes. He understood that there were things that Sila couldn’t talk about with him, she had told him that much. But that still didn’t mean he liked the fact that she was keeping important information from them.

“I am going to do my best to help you,” she compromised, shrugging at Sam’s look.

“I’m ready,” Pamela called from the small table “In here.” She nodded to the empty chairs, gesturing for them to take a seat with Dean next to her “Right. Take each other’s hands.” She glanced over at Dean “And I need to touch something our mystery monster touched.”

Dean jumped when her hand slid along his inner thigh “Woah. Well, he didn’t touch me there.”

Pamela laughed it off “My mistake.”

Dean looked around nervously before he caught Sila’s eyes. He bit his lip before he pulled off his outer shirt and tugged up his left sleeve to reveal a huge handprint. Sam gaped at it before turning to see Bobby’s reaction.

Pam studied it for a moment before she nodded in satisfaction “Okay.” She placed her hand on the mark and closed her eyes “I invoke, conjure and command you, appear unto me before this circle.” She repeated the phrase until the television flicked on “I invoke, conjure and command… Castiel? No. Sorry, Castiel, I don’t scare easy.”

Dean opened his eyes “Castiel?”

“Its name,” Pam replied, still focussed on her chant “It’s whispering to me, warning me to turn back.” The table began to shake even as the white noise and the static continued “I conjure and command you, show me your face.”

Sila opened her mouth to speak up before something worse happened but Pam cut her off before she had a chance to say anything. When she tried to pull her hand away, it was like they were glued to Dean and Bobby’s.

“Maybe we should stop,” Bobby shouted over the increasing noise, not caring that he was speaking over Pam’s chanting.

“I almost got it,” Pamela shook her head “I command you, show me your face. Show me your face now.”

Suddenly, Sila’s hands were free and the candles flared up several feet. It only took a second for Sila to be beside Pamela “Hold still. Don’t open your eyes,” Sila urged, trying to press her hand to Pam’s face. The psychic flinched away even as her eyes flew open, white-hot flames burning her eyes “Crap.”

“What’s happening?” Dean shouted.

“Quiet,” Sila hissed “I need to concentrate.”

Bobby shot a look at Sam “Call 9-1-1.”

“I can’t see,” Pamela breathed before her voice got louder “I can’t see. Oh, God.”

“Can you hold still for me?” Sila asked quietly, keeping her voice as soothing as she could “I can try to help.”

Pam clenched her hands into fists “How? How could you possibly help?”

“Because I’ve seen this before,” Sila bit out “Not like yours but similar.” She swallowed, thinking about Deucalion. He had gotten his eyesight back only for it to be robbed by Gerard again. By then, she had a little control over her magic and managed to heal the damage enough for Deucalion to see again. His eyes weren’t perfect after she was finished but his werewolf healing had done the rest “Now, hold still. This is going to feel weird.”

* * *

Sila was sitting next to Dean on one of the tables in the abandoned warehouse they had tagged. While Dean and Bobby hadn’t been looking, Sila inconspicuously added a couple of symbols that Gabe showed her. Just for that little bit of extra protection… Should anything go wrong.

After they made sure that Pamela would be alright – her vision would never be the same but at least she wasn’t completely blind thanks to Sila’s magic – they returned to Bobby’s house with Dean going near crazy about what he had found out.

Bobby and Sila had immediately holed up in a corner, discussing things in sharp tones. They had passed around a book and scribbled notes while Sam and Dean watched in confusion and awe. While Sam had seen that happen before, he couldn’t get over how well the two worked together when it came to research. Sam was good… but not quite on their level.

“You sure you did the ritual right?” Dean asked, swinging his legs. Bobby and Sila both shot him a glare, causing him to raise his hands in surrender “Sorry. Touchy, touchy, huh?”

“Dean, do both of us a favour and shut up,” Sila grumbled, resisting the urge to pace. She was nervous. This would be the first time she would run into an angel who wasn’t Gabriel and she wasn’t sure whether they would notice something wrong with her. While they shouldn’t, she just wasn’t sure what to do now that angels were watching the brothers. It made her job a lot harder and she wouldn’t be able to tell them much anymore…

As if on cue, a loud rattling shook the roof. Dean and Bobby readied their shotguns while Sila jumped up just in time for a piece of ceiling to fall on the table where she had been sitting “Thanks,” she grumbled at the ceiling “Love you too, buddy.”

“Wishful thinking,” Dean shouted over the noise “But maybe it’s just the wind.”

The door burst open, revealing a man in a business suit and trench coat. Sila flinched back when the light bulbs shattered in a shower of sparks as Castiel passed them. Dean and Bobby opened fire, barely slowing down the man.

When they ran out of bullets, Dean moved over to grip Ruby’s knife tightly “Who are you?” he demanded.

“I’m the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition,” Castiel answered, his voice gravelly.

Dean snorted “Yeah. Thanks for that.” He reared back, plunging the knife into Castiel’s chest.

“Dean. Stop, it won’t work,” Sila told him, stepping up behind him as Castiel looked down, pulling the knife out with a put-upon expression. When Bobby went to attack, she raised her hand “Bobby, no. Remember what we talked about.”

Castiel turned to her, narrowing his icy blue eyes “You…”

“Me,” Sila shrugged, not really sure what he was on about. She blinked when she caught sight of the tie “Dude, you know that your tie is…” She waved her hands around “Kinda fucked up, right?”

“We need to talk, Dean. Alone,” Castiel told the older Winchester. He turned to touch Bobby’s forehead, causing the older hunter to crumple to the ground.

Sila stepped back when the angel once again turned on her “Woah,” she exclaimed, holding up her hands “You go near me with your angel mojo and I’ll…”

“You’ll what, Sila?” Dean asked, stepping between her and Castiel.

“I… Dammit,” she grumbled “This would have been better with a good threat.” She crossed her arms with a pout “Anyway. I’ll find a way to set your feathery ass on fire if you even think of touching me.”

Castiel looked at her for a moment before he turned away “Your friend is alive. I’m unsure why you react so violently.”

“Vi…” Dean broke off, tearing his eyes from Bobby’s moving chest “Who are you?”

“Castiel.”

Dean shot him a look “Yeah, I figured that much, I mean what are you?”

“I’m an Angel of the Lord,” Castiel answered.

“Get the hell out of here,” Dean burst out “There’s no such thing…” He looked at Sila who looked more amused than he would have liked it. Especially since it was directed at him and not the so-called angel “Is there?”

“This is your problem, Dean,” Castiel told him, moving closer to the middle of the barn “You have no faith.” Lightning flashed and huge black shadows appeared, stretching off into the distance.

Dean stared for a moment before he glared at the man “Some angel you are. You burned out that poor woman’s eyes. It was only thanks to Sila that she isn’t completely blind.”

Castiel looked bored “I warned her not to spy on my true form. It can be… overwhelming to humans and so can my real voice. But you already knew that.”

“You mean the gas station and the motel?” Dean asked, raising his eyebrows “That was you talking?” When Castiel nodded, he let out a strangled noise “Buddy, next time, lower the volume.”

“That was my mistake,” Castiel admitted, actually sounding a little sheepish “Certain people, special people can perceive my true visage. I thought you would be one of them. I was wrong.”

Sila blinked. She had seen Gabe’s wings before but he had said that was normal “What do you mean special?”

“Not many people can hold an angel, never mind see their true form,” Castiel explained “Angels were created by God and are of the heavenly host. Simple humans don’t have the ability to see us as we are.”

“Oh, that bastard,” Sila hissed, throwing a wrench at the far wall. She was so sick of all this. The info dump, the gender change… The only good thing that came from the whole thing was Gabriel and the Winchesters. If not for them, she would have told Him to screw himself “If I ever get my hand on Him, I’m going to fucking end Him.”

“What’s wrong?” Dean frowned at her.

Sila took a deep breath before she shook her head “I’ll tell you later. Go deal with your problem over there.”

“My… Oh, right. Him,” Dean sighed, running a hand through his hair “So, what visage are you in now, huh? What, holy tax accountant?”

Castiel barely blinked at the topic change “This? This is… a vessel.”

“You’re possessing some poor bastard?” Dean asked, immediately thinking about how similar angels were to demons. It was painfully funny actually.

“He’s a devout man, he actually prayed for this,” Castiel told him.

Dean crossed his arms “Well, I’m not buying what you’re selling, so who are you really?”

Castiel frowned “I told you. And Sliczny told you too.”

“Ew,” Sila groaned “Did you just call me by my full name, Wings?”

Dean turned to her in surprise “Your name is Sli… Erm… Slin…”

“Don’t try,” Sila told him “It’s Sila. And he really is an angel, Dean. No matter how much you wanna believe they don’t exist.”

“Right,” Dean snorted in disbelief “And why would an angel rescue me from Hell?”

Castiel looked at him seriously “Good things do happen, Dean.”

“Not in my experience,” Dean snapped.

Castiel tilted his head in confusion “What’s the matter?” He paused, studying Dean closely “You don’t think you deserve to be saved?”

“Why did you do it?”

“Because God commanded it. Because we have work for you,” Castiel explained.


	5. Are You There God? It's Me, Dean Winchester

Bobby and Sila were sitting at his desk with a pile of books in front of him while Sam was sitting in a chair in the opposite corner, talking to Dean “Well, then tell me what else it could be. If Sila agrees that it’s an angel and both Bobby and Sila think that it’s the only thing that could have saved you…”

“Look, all I know is that I was not groped by an angel,” Dean shot back, setting his jaw stubbornly.

Sam rolled his eyes at him “Okay, look, Dean. Why do you think this Castiel would lie to you about it?”

“Maybe he’s some kind of demon,” Dean shrugged “Demons lie.” Bobby looked up from his books, raising his eyebrow in disbelief.

“A demon who’s immune to salt rounds and devil’s traps… and Ruby’s knife?” Sam pointed out doubtfully “Dean, Lilith is scared of that thing.”

Sila stood up, carrying the book she had been leafing through with her “Here. Read this,” she said, gesturing to a paragraph.

Dean blinked down at the page “Er… Sila, what language is that?”

“Oh,” she mumbled, looking at the book. She shook her head and grinned sheepishly “Basically, Castiel is a Seraph. That means he is just about a foot soldier. His name means “cover of God” or “shield of God”. Do you really think a demon would take on that name? They might have originated from an angel but seriously?”

“Wait, back up. What do you mean the originated from an angel?” Dean asked.

Sila sighed and ran a hand through her hair, thanking Loki that she had read Gabriel’s books in addition to the knowledge that God had shared with her. At least, she would be able to help the boys better this way “Do you know anything about Christianity? Demons were created by an angel – a fallen angel. Some of the more powerful ‘demons’ you might have encountered or heard about actually are fallen angels. Most of them don’t have grace anymore but one still does.”

“Huh,” Dean muttered “So you really think that Castiel is an angel?”

“As sure as I can be,” Sila nodded.

“But wouldn’t other hunters have seen angel if they were real?” he asked, looking around the room.

Bobby shook his head “Not if they haven’t been on Earth in ages. I found a couple of books that were written by people having encountered an angel. But they were ages ago. Several centuries actually.”

“Well, at least this isn’t just another round of demon crap,” Sam gestured “I mean, maybe you were saved by one of the good guys, you know?”

“Debatable,” Sila shrugged.

Dean sighed in annoyance and ran a hand through his hair “Okay. Say it’s true. Say there are angels. Then what? There’s a God?”

“At this point, Vegan money’s on yeah,” Bobby nodded.

Sila snapped her fingers and pointed at him “There is. He is a right asshole too.”

“I sense a story there,” Sam blinked “Hold on… Do you know him?”

“No,” Sila lied. Then again, she didn’t actually know Him. She knew of Him and met him once for like an hour but other than that. Nope, she didn’t know him at all.

“Look,” Sam spoke up, turning to Dean “I know you’re not all choirboy about this stuff but this is becoming less and less about faith and more and more about proof.”

Dean snorted “Proof?”

“Yes.”

“Proof that there’s a God out there that actually gives a crap about me personally?” Dean shook his head, staring at Sam as if he had grown another head “I’m sorry but I’m not buying it.”

“Why not?”

Dean groaned and sat down on the chair Sila had occupied earlier “Because why me? If there is a God out there, why would he give a crap about me?”

“Dean…”

“I mean, I’ve saved some people, okay? I figured that made up for the stealing and the ditching chicks. But why do I deserve to get saved? I’m just a regular guy.”

Sila placed her hands on Dean’s shoulders, resting her chin on his head “Face it, Deano. You’re not just a regular guy. I’m sure there is a reason why you were brought back and I’m sure it’s plenty bad. Things always seem to be around the two of you. Just accept that you’re back and focus on finding out why there are angels on Earth now.”

“Do you know?” Sam asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes on her “You have always known more than you let on. Hell, you knew that Dean was coming back.”

Sila raised her shoulder in a half shrug “I know everything,” she smiled wryly “I’m sorry, Sammy. This is something the two of you have to piece together yourself. If certain people find out how much I know… Well, it wouldn’t end too great for me.”

Dean looked up at her expression and winced at the seriousness he found there. From what he could see, Sila would tell them but the fact that it would place her in danger… Sam had told him a lot of what she told him while he was dead and it wasn’t pretty. Her story was a bloody one and – dare he say it – even worse than their lives had turned out to be “So… What do we know about angels?”

Sila looked at Bobby and shrugged when he raised his eyebrows at her “I wanna know what you find. My knowledge isn’t all that good. I only know a couple of key things.”

Bobby nodded and picked up a pile of fat and heavy looking books, putting them down in front of Dean with a loud thump “Start reading.”

Dean gaped at the books before he turned to Sam “You’re gonna get me some pie,” he demanded, leafing through the first book with a grimace.

Sila snorted at him “Come on, Dean. The books won’t bite,” she teased, grabbing one from the pile that Bobby handed her.

* * *

“We’re here,” Bobby said, cutting the engine of his car.

Sila blinked, pushing back the memories she had been thinking of. Back when the pack was still happy, back when they were still so young “Already?”

“You’ve been zoned out for ages, kid,” Bobby told her before getting out of the car to grab a gun from the trunk. Sila followed slowly “Here.”

“Thanks,” Sila nodded when he passed her one of his guns, checking it over quickly. She moved over to Sam, smiling when the giant of a man looked down at her in concern.

Bobby entered the house at the front with Sam bringing up the rear “Olivia?” the older hunter called out. He froze when he noticed the body on the ground.

“Bobby?” Dean called after him when Bobby stormed past them out of the room.

Sam pointed to the doorway “Salt line.”

The three of them started looking around the room. Dean hummed, picking up the EMF “Olivia was rocking the EMF meter.”

“Definitely spirits then,” Sila sighed, running a hand through her hair.

“Yeah,” Dean snorted “On steroids. I’ve never seen a ghost do this to a person.” He looked up when Bobby came back, phone in hand and a lot paler than he had been earlier “Bobby, you alright?”

Bobby nodded faintly “I called come hunters nearby…”

“Good. We can use their help…”

Sila narrowed her eyes at the expression on Bobby’s face “They didn’t answer either, did they?”

“No,” Bobby mumbled.

Sam’s eyes were wide “Something’s up, huh?”

“You think?” Bobby asked, his voice hinting at the fear he was feeling.

* * *

The more people they checked in on, the tenser Bobby get. Sila could have sworn the man was close to jumping out of his skin when his phone rang “Answer that for me, will you?”

Sila grabbed it “What did you find?”

“ _Hello to you too, Sila,”_ Dean huffed in amusement.

“Sorry,” she grumbled, putting the phone on speaker “Hello, Dean. Now, what did you find?”

Dean sighed “ _We’re in Jackson. It’s not pretty. He looks even worse than Olivia. What about the two of you?_ ”

Bobby closed his eyes for a moment before he huffed out a breath “R.C. Sila and I checked on Carl Bates and R.C. Adams. They’ve redecorated… in red.”

“ _What the hell is going on here, Bobby? Why did a bunch of ghosts suddenly want to gank off-duty hunters?_ ”

“I don’t know,” Bobby shook his head “But until we find out, you guys better get your asses to my place.”

Dean nodded in acknowledgement “ _We’re on our way._ ”

Sila hung up and turned to Bobby “This is weird,” she remarked, racking her brain to think of what the hell is going on. She had still been unaware of the Supernatural back in her timeline, so she couldn’t have any knowledge of this from before… And the rest of the information was quite difficult to overlook. Sila had written down some key points in a journal – things that she planned on changing but apart from that, she was almost as much in the dark as the others were. The only thing she was sure of was that this was a seal “Spirits don’t just decide to all come out to play. This isn’t how this is supposed to work.”

“No, it ain’t,” Bobby shook his head “Why are they going after hunters? I knew Olivia, R.C and Carl. They were good people.”

“I have no idea,” Sila shook her head “But we’ll find out. There has to be something somewhere.”

Bobby rubbed at his beard “You’re a good kid, Sila. You shouldn’t even be in this business.”

Sila shifted in her seat, leaning her back against the passenger door “Needs must, Bobby. Needs must. I would have preferred it differently but… We can’t all have what we want.”

“Too right,” Bobby grunted and went silent. He knew some of Sila’s story and it was a bloody one. The stuff that turns good people into hunters. The loss that comes with becoming a hunter was staggering. For John and Bobby, it was their wives. For Sila, it was everyone she ever cared for. They all died one way or another. Sam and Dean were raised in the business which wasn’t what Bobby had wanted for them. He had told John on more than one occasion to leave the boys with someone who could care for them away from the life they now led.

Sila looked at him as if she could tell what he was thinking and smiled lightly “At least you have another research buddy,” she told him “I was told I’m good at it.”

“You are,” Bobby nodded in agreement “More focussed than either of those idjits.”

“Being more focussed than Dean when he is looking through a book is nothing to be proud of,” Sila snorted “That man would prefer watching paint dry to reading a book.”

Bobby’s lips twitched “Hm, you might be on to something there.”

* * *

Sam and Dean burst into Bobby’s house, their guns at the ready. They had been trying to reach both Bobby and Sila for the hours it took them to get there. Ever since Sam had seen Henriksen, the two were even more frantic when it came to trying to reach them “Bobby?” Dean called out.

“Sila?” Sam shouted. He knelt down to pick up the iron poker, looking up at Dean with worry shining in his eyes.

Dean gestured to the stairs “I’ll go. You check outside.”

Sam nodded and turned, walking out of the door while Dean headed upstairs “Bobby? Sila?” He froze when he saw brown hair peeking out from around the corner and hurried over, kneeling down next to the unconscious girl “Sila. Come on. You have to wake up. Sila?”

“Dean Winchester,” a voice from behind started Dean and he raised his gun, covering Sila with his body.

Dean blinked at the young woman. She seemed somewhat familiar but it took him a moment to place her “Meg?”

“Hi,” she smiled overly sweet, moving closer to him. She stopped when he tightened his grip on the gun “It’s okay. I’m not a demon.”

“You’re the girl the demon possessed,” Dean realised, glancing down at Sila who was still out cold.

Meg smiled “Meg Masters. Nice to finally talk to you when I’m not, you know, choking on my own blood.” She held up her hands “It’s okay. Seriously, I’m just a college girl. Sorry – was. I was walking home one night and got jumped by all this smoke. Next thing you know, I’m a prisoner…” Meg tapped her head “In here. Now, I was awake. I had to watch while she murdered people.”

Dean swallowed the lump in his throat “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, yeah?” Meg snorted “So sorry you had me thrown off a building?”

“Oh, shut up,” Sila slurred, raising her hand to her head. She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut when her world started spinning.

Dean fired the gun, hitting Meg with a salt round before he knelt down next to her “Sila. What happened?”

“There was something in the house,” she mumbled “I was trying to get to Bobby but I got hit on the head and then… nothing.”

“Do you know where Bobby is?” Dean asked, helping Sila to sit up.

Sila shook her head “No. I – There were these two girls. I don’t know. I’m sorry, Dean.” She swallowed back nausea “Who was the girl?”

“Meg,” Dean bit his lip “She was possessed by a demon. We killed her.”

“It’s not your fault, you know,” Sila pointed out “Maybe you could have saved her but I think that if she were really as… as good as she pretends to be, she would understand that she had to be stopped. Even at the expanse of her life.”

Dean looked at her with a raised eyebrow “Not everyone is like you, Sila. I don’t think…” He went flying, sliding across the floor as Meg strode over to him “Meg… We didn’t know…”

“No,” the girl snarled “You just attacked. Did you ever think there was a girl in there? No. You just charged in, slashing and burning. You think you’re some kind of hero?”

“No, I don’t,” Dean shook his head, looking down at the floor.

Meg grabbed Dean’s jacket, revealing the brand on her hand. Sila blinked, recognising it from leafing through one of Bobby’s books. What did it mean again? She knew that it had something to do with the seals but she wasn’t sure which one it was “You’re damn right. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be ridden for months by pure evil…”

“Yes,” Sila spoke up, making Meg’s head snap around “I know what it’s like. I was possessed like you were.” She paused, wrapping her arms around her waist. She just wanted to see how Meg would react. Whether this was just a misguided attempt at revenge or whether she was being used to take out hunters. It was almost certainly the second one but Sila didn’t want to make her mind up before she had enough proof “He attacked and killed my friends, my family. So you think you had it bad? At least someone stopped you before you could hurt more people. Isn’t that the most important thing? I would have gladly died for any of my friends but they waited too long, let him play them time and time again until he almost managed to break them. He broke me and used me.”

“Sila…”

“What?” she huffed, glaring over at him “I’m not going to let that bitch make you regret doing what you did. You saved a lot of people.”

Meg gritted her teeth and threw the girl into one of the walls on the other side of the room before turning back to Dean “It wasn’t just me, Dean. I had a sister,” she told him, her tone venomous “A little sister. She worshipped me. You know how little siblings are, right? How they’ll do anything for you. She was never the same after I disappeared. She just… She just got lost. And when my body was lying in the morgue beat-up and broken…”

“Meg…” Dean tried to stop her, glancing at Sila out of the corner of his eyes. She was still lying on the ground but seemed more dazed than actually unconscious.

Meg clenched her hands into fists “Do you know what that did to her? She killed herself.” She kicked Dean in the stomach “Because of you, Dean. Because all you were thinking about was your family, your revenge and your demons. 50 words of Latin a little sooner and I’d still be alive. My baby sister would still be alive. That blood is on your hands, Dean.”

Dean clutched his stomach, not even trying to dodge her next blow “You’re right.” He rolled to the side when he spotted his gun, aiming at Meg.

“Come on, Dean,” she laughed “Did your brain get french-fried in Hell? You can’t shoot me with bullets.”

“I’m not shooting you,” Dean smirked, aiming at the chandelier on the ceiling, causing it to fall straight through Meg. He nodded in satisfaction before scrambling to his feet “Iron.”

“Oh, that bitch,” Sila groaned, wincing when Dean helped her to her feet “I’m going to enjoy ending her.”

* * *

“So, they’re all people we know?” Sam asked when the four of them were in Bobby’s study.

Sila winced, leafing through the book she was holding. That had been her last clue as to what was happening “Not just people you know,” she murmured.

Dean nodded in agreement “It’s people we couldn’t save.” He frowned “I saw something on Meg. Did she have a tattoo when she was alive?”

“I don’t think so,” Sam shook his head.

“It was like a – a mark on her hand,” Dean gestured “Almost like a brand.”

“What did it look like?” Bobby asked, getting up from his chair.

Sila moved over to him “Found it. Mark of the Witnesses. This is a…”

“A what?”

Sila bit her lip “Oh, you’ll find out eventually anyway. This is a seal. One of the sixty-six seals.”

“What seals?”

Bobby looked around when he felt a gust of wind “We got to move.” He grabbed the gun in front of him and gestured for the other three to follow him “Follow me. Sila, grab those books over there. Quickly.”

Sam frowned when they walked down the stairs and into the basement he didn’t even know existed “Okay, where are we going?”

“Some place safe, you idiot,” Bobby huffed, opening a heavy door that appeared to be made from solid iron.

“Bobby is this…” Sam broke off, his eyes darting all over the pentagrams and Devil’s traps.

Bobby nodded smugly “Solid iron. Completely coated in salt. 100% ghost-proof.”

“You built a panic room?” Sam asked incredulously, watching Sila look around the room, trailing her hands over some of the symbols.

Bobby shrugged “I had a weekend off.”

“Bobby,” Dean looked away from the wall.

“What?” he demanded, narrowing his eyes on the older of the two brothers.

Dean grinned “You’re awesome.”

They were quiet for a while with Sam and Dean making iron salt rounds and Bobby and Sila passing books back and forth “You really think so?” Bobby asked sceptically.

“I know so,” Sila shrugged “I – Okay, look. I was warned that this would happen eventually and now that it’s actually happening, I won’t be trying to keep it from you.”

Sam looked over “Keep what from us?”

“I told you upstairs that the rising of the Witnesses is a seal, right?” When both boys nodded, she gestured to the book in front of her and Bobby “Well, it’s part of the Book of Revelations. This – This is a sign of the apocalypse.”

Dean gaped at her “Apocalypse? The apocalypse, apocalypse? The four horsemen, pestilence, 5 dollar a gallon gas apocalypse?”

Sila blinked at him “I don’t know about the gas prices and Pestilence is one of the four horsemen but yeah. That one.”

“Okay, so… What do we do now?” Sam asked, plopping down in his chair. He closed his eyes for a moment and rubbed his forehead tiredly.

“Road trip,” Dean said immediately “Grand Canyon, Star Trek Experience, Bunny Ranch. Hey, you ever been, Sila?”

She shook her head with a small grin “Nope. Also, I raise you Disney World.”

“Deal.”

“First things first,” Bobby spoke up, raising his eyebrows at them “How about we survive our friends out there?”

Dean sighed “Great. Any ideas aside from staying in this room until Judgement Day?”

“It’s a spell,” Bobby indicated to the paper in front of him “To send the witnesses back to rest. Should work.”

Sam grimaced “Should… Great.”

“If I translated it correctly,” Bobby shrugged “I think I got everything we need here at the house.”

“Any chance you got everything we need here in this room?” Dean asked hopefully.

Bobby shot him a grim look “So, you thought our luck was gonna start now all of a sudden? Spell’s got to be cast over an open fire.”

“The fireplace in the library,” Sam realised.

“Bingo,” Bobby nodded.

Dean looked from one person to the other “That’s just not as appealing as a – uh – ghost-proof panic room, you know?”

Sila snatched the list from Bobby’s hands along with the book “Where is the stuff, Bobby?”

“Why?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

“Because all those people up there… They’re your witnesses, not mine,” Sila pointed out with a wry smile “All of mine are… Well, it’s a long and complicated story that I will tell you in a room that is better warded than this.”

“Better warded?” Dean asked, raising his eyebrows.

Sila shot him a small grin “I’ll get to that once we unrise the witnesses.” She turned to Bobby “I hope you don’t mind me tagging this room a little more, do you?”

Bobby waved his hand “Be my guest.”

“Awesome,” Sila nodded and quickly reading over the list and where she would find the ingredients. Thankfully, she had seen all of the boxes Bobby was referring to before, so she knew where they were “Okay. I’ll get this done.”

“Sila,” Dean called out, handing her a gun and several newly made bullets “Be careful, will you? I don’t like sending you out there alone.”

Sila smiled at him “It’s going to be alright. I have the best chance of actually managing. If anything happens, I’ll call Loki.” Bobby grimaced at the thought of the pagan in his house but didn’t say anything as Sila quickly checked over the gun.

The boys opened the door for Sila, hesitating when she walked through. They watched as she made her way forward, disappearing from view “Are you sure this was a good idea?” Sam murmured when they closed it again.

“Not at all,” Dean groaned, running a hand through his hair “But what choice do we have? We don’t know how many spirits are here. The girls, Meg, Henriksen… Actually, that is what’s making this even worse.” He started pacing up and down in front of the door “Why the hell did we let her go alone?”

* * *

Sila froze when she saw the ghost sitting on the stairs, frowning when she didn’t recognise him. He wasn’t part of the earlier assaults as far as she could tell. Did he just show up?

“Hello. You’re with the Winchesters, aren’t you?”

“What makes you think that?” Sila asked, her sarcasm shining through. She just wanted this over with. Not just the ghost thing but the whole apocalypse. The sooner it was over, the sooner she could go… home. Or at least the place that had been her home before “The fact that I’m with them now?”

The man stood up and walked closer to where she was standing “How many have they hurt? How many have died because of them? I did… Do you really want to be next?”

Sila smirked “Too little, too late,” she snorted “I don’t know how you think you are but you don’t know shit about me, so be a good little ghost and fuck off, will you? I have work to do.”

“You’re trying to get rid of us,” a voice spoke up behind her. She turned to see the dark-skinned man – Henriksen if she wasn’t mistaken.

She groaned when she realised that the ghosts had boxed her in and without making it obvious, she shielded herself, raising the gun to shoot at both of them “There you go,” she grumbled, reloading the gun on her way up the stairs. Maybe she should have grabbed another one but it was too late for that.

Once she reached the living room, she placed everything down on the table by the fireplace, lighting it with a flick of her fingers. She glanced over the list and nodded to herself, making her way up the stairs towards the linen closet. When everything stayed silent, she enlarged the shield around herself, strengthening it. The box that she needed was heavy enough for her to need most of her concentration to get back down the stairs without tripping, never mind the fact that there was no way she would be able to shoot any ghosts on the way.

When she went to grab the rest of the stuff from the kitchen, she was flung across the room, hitting the wall with a loud crack “Ow,” she groaned, looking up to see Meg standing in front of her with a smirk on her face “Oh great… You again.”

Meg opened her mouth to say something when a shot rang out behind her “Sila,” Sam called out, crouching down next to her “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” she mumbled “What are you doing up here? I thought you said you’d stay downstairs.”

“We heard the shots,” Dean told her, looking over the list on the table “What else do you need?”

Sila let Sam help her to her feet “Hemlock, opium and wormwood,” she said, making her way over “It’s in the cutlery drawer. There’s a false bottom.” Dean was about to make a comment when he shook his head, hurrying to the kitchen.

“Anything else?” Sam asked.

“I need you to draw this,” Sila told him, pointing to the chalk and the open pages of the book “I’m going to make sure we won’t get disturbed again.”

Sam nodded “You got it.”

Sila was just making a salt line on the ground when the kitchen door slammed shut “Dean?”

“I’m alright,” he shouted back “Give me a moment. I’ll be right there.”

When the salt line was finished, Sila reached for her spark, reinforcing it to make sure it stayed put “Sam, are you done?” When he nodded his head, she glanced at the kitchen “Go look for Dean. Hurry. I’m not sure how long the barrier is going to hold.”

Sam grabbed his gun and ran to the kitchen, shooting immediately when he saw that Henriksen had his hand in Dean’s chest “You alright?” he asked, rushing over to check on Dean.

“No,” Dean grunted, struggling to get up.

Sam grimaced in sympathy and pulled Dean to his feet “Let’s go.”

“Did you get it?” Sila asked as soon as they reached the library where she had already assembled everything else.

Dean put down the second hex box, rubbing at his chest with a wince. He glanced at the salt line “How sure are you that this will hold?”

“If we hurry, pretty sure,” Sila told him “But there are no guarantees. I haven’t exactly practised with anything but mountain ash before, so I’d suggest you shoot at everyone coming too close.

“I can do that,” Dean nodded.

Sila started reciting the spell, hurrying as much as her knowledge in Latin would let her. When she was halfway through, the windows burst open and the wind fills the room as the ghosts attempted to breach Sila’s salt barrier. She glanced up, for a moment faltering in her chanting but when nothing happened, she continued. When the spell was finished, Sila threw the bowl into the fire, turning it blue. The ghosts let out silent screams as they disappeared into thin air.

“Is it over?” Dean asked when the wind stopped abruptly, looking around nervously.

Sila nodded and dropped to the floor as her legs gave out on her. Holding her shield up for her journey through the house and the barrier had tired her out. It wasn’t often that she used her spark – her magic but she was slowly starting to build up her stamina. Similarly, to how she had to build up her strength and muscle mass in her new body.

Despite having different parts, it wasn’t that different. Gabriel had given up on making her wear dresses she wasn’t comfortable in after the first time she met the boys but it didn’t mean that she didn’t occasionally like wearing them. Things had changed so much and it was easier to blend in when she was hunting or when Gabriel took her some places. While she still preferred to wear sweatshirts and jeans, needs must. Her clothing had never really mattered to her, not even when she was still Stiles. A lot of things changed and she was slowly starting to see the light, despite the fact that she was still pissed at Him for how he handled everything. Had she had more warning, then maybe she wouldn’t have been so thrown when she turned into a girl. In the end, she decided it was easier to blame Him and be done with it than to think of how much she failed everyone in her future… She had gotten a second chance and she would sure as hell use is.


End file.
